Are you still using an older iPhone? Apple just updated its FaceTime video calling experience

Apple hasn’t officially said anything about this and it wasn’t in the release notes either, but it turns out that with the release of iOS 14.2 a few days ago, older iPhones have received a major update when it comes to FaceTime video calling. This change covers most of the line that includes the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone SE 2020. This means that all iPhones that were previously restricted to 720p HD videos for FaceTime calls will now be able to make 1080p Full HD FaceTime calls. As long as you are connected to Wi-Fi.

FaceTime calls made on 3G or 4G networks will still be restricted to 720p, perhaps for better stability in what can be fluctuating bandwidth. These changes were noted by the good folks at MacMagazine, who also noted that the iPhone 12 series already has 1080p FaceTime calling. For the update to be visible, you will need both parties on the FaceTime call on Wi-Fi to run the iOS 14.2 update on their iPhone. The differences will be there, because certain iPhones have different front camera hardware compared to others; for example, an iPhone 8 has a 7-megapixel FaceTime camera while the iPhone 11 has a 12-megapixel FaceTime camera.