Apple Introduces New ‘FaceTime Attention Correction’ Feature In iOS 13

Apple is introducing a new feature meant to enhance communication via FaceTime.

Apple iPhone and iPad users who normally use FaceTime to communicate to family, friends and practically anyone normally had to struggle with choosing between looking at the camera to make it appear like they’re looking at the person they’re talking to, or looking at the screen to see who they are talking to. Obviously, users can’t do both simultaneously.

Apple sought to remedy this by introducing what it calls the new “FaceTime Attention Correction” in iOS 13, iPhoneHacks reported. This feature basically makes FaceTime users appear like they’re looking at the camera and the person they are talking to when in fact they’re just looking at the center of the screen to see the person on the other side of the FaceTime conversation.

According to some people on the internet, the feature works. The Dish Podcast host Will Sigmon tweeted a few photos comparing how the feature makes a user look when it is activated to when a person actually looks at the camera. While the photos showed him with a different facial expression (he was smiling on the “corrected” photo), his eyes do look like they’re focused on the front camera.

Another Twitter user named Fernando Antonio posted a photo showing that while the feature worked well, certain obstructions can cause the feature to fail. In this case, Antonio’s photo showed an eye with a bent eyeglass frame in front. Apparently, the feature doesn’t work well when the user is wearing eyeglasses.

Only for iOS 13?

While Apple initially rolled the feature out on iOS 13, Apple fans can expect to see the feature in other Apple devices in the future. It is present on the 11-inch iPad Pro, although the feature doesn’t work on the Apple tablet yet. That said, Apple might be able to find a way to make it work on the iPads in the future.

Currently, the feature only works on the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. It is unclear why the Cupertino tech giant didn’t make the function work on the iPhone X and iPhone XR, since all iPhone models have the TrueDepth camera system used to make the function work.