FaceTime is coming to the Apple TV for the first time this fall. With iOS 17 and tvOS 17, you’ll be able to use your iPhone as your TV’s webcam while everyone on the video call appears on the big screen. That’s not the only camera-required experience coming to the Apple TV, either.
I haven’t tried FaceTime on Apple TV with the tvOS 17 pre-release beta, but I think bringing FaceTime to the Apple TV has the potential to feel fairly natural. Maybe it will feel like having a conversation with someone sitting across from you in the living room.
What doesn’t feel natural, at least for now, is positioning your phone as the camera for the TV. Apple shows an example here of someone moving a FaceTime call from the iPhone to the Apple TV, and it works. I already do this occasionally with my Mac, and it has its own camera.
I think the real goal for FaceTime on Apple TV has to be the ability to sit down on the couch, pick up the Siri remote, and launch the FaceTime app to call someone up without involving your phone.
Unlike phones, tablets, and laptops, TV sets just don’t come with built-in webcams, and who would trust them even if they did?
But tvOS 17 really wants a camera.
iPhone and iPad work for now. Apple has also reportedly spent time on developing a HomePod soundbar/Apple TV/camera combo. Just like with StandBy on iOS 17 and Apple’s rumored smart screen product, we’re probably seeing the groundwork for a future smart home product that won’t need an iPhone for its camera.
I think this is especially true when you look at what else tvOS 17 will be able to do with a camera. WebEx and Zoom will have video calling apps, and developers can create apps that use the camera as well.
Top comment by MrEdofCourse
I've had numerous Apple TVs in 16 different locations. Not one of them was located in such a way that a built-in camera could be used. They were in cabinets, server racks, mounted behind the TV, or in a different room altogether.
I could see the Apple TV allowing a camera to be connected via USB, but building it in makes no sense, unless it was a different device altogether like an Apple TV/SoundBar.
Then there’s this Apple Music Sing feature. It’s only on the newest Apple TV, and tvOS 17 takes it even further.
“Apple Music Sing — a feature that lets users sing along to their favorite tracks — will also integrate Continuity Camera so users can see themselves onscreen and add entertaining filters,” Apple says in a press release.
If using your iPhone as an Apple TV camera feels cumbersome, setting it up for Apple Music Sing may be too much. When used with a built-in webcam, however, it’s a creative way to make the experience feel more personal.
Hopefully the Apple TV and/or HomePod with a camera happens in the next year or two. Otherwise, I would be interested in repurposing a HomeKit camera for FaceTime on Apple TV instead of using the phone.
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