According to a new report from the Israel-based site The Verifier, Apple with iOS 11 will introduce a new feature that, while not mind-blowing, has been long overdue and will undoubtedly be warmly received by iOS users. The report specifically relays that FaceTime in iOS 11 will at long last include support for multi-user FaceTime video calls.
The report also adds that Apple is hoping to make its FaceTime app more of a social experience, a claim which might hint at Apple’s plans to bestow the app with fun photo filters similar to what apps like Snapchat and MSQRD already employ with great success. This of course squares up nicely with previous reports indicating that Apple’s next-gen iPhone will feature more widespread support for augmented reality.
On a related note, it’s also worth noting that Apple in late 2015 acquired Faceshift, a company whose technology can capture a user’s facial expressions in real-time and subsequently transform the user’s face into a 3D avatar. And for an added bit of intrigue, Faceshift’s technology was previously used to improve the special effects in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The Verifier has a somewhat non-existent track record with respect to Apple rumors, so this report should obviously be taken with a grain of salt. Still, the idea of Apple more fully embracing AR and animated filters for its FaceTime and Messages apps is certainly within the realm of possibility.
WWDC is about five months away now and, again, this is the first real iOS 11 rumor we’ve seen surface in quite some time. While it’s widely expected that iOS 11 will also enable users to send each other money via the Messages app, we haven’t seen any new reports pointing to this in quite some time.
In the absence of any compelling and new iOS 11 information, we’ll just have to make do with this iOS 11 concept video which began making the rounds earlier this month.
