Although Apple’s official release notes for the iOS 14.2 software make no mention of any significant FaceTime improvements, Brazilian blog MacMagazine has managed to discover that the update enables support for FaceTime video calling in crisp 1080p resolution (1,920-by-1,080 pixels) over Wi-Fi on all iPhone models from the iPhone 8 onward.
According to the blog, Apple’s technical specifications for its older smartphones such as the iPhone XR were updated shortly after the release of the iOS 14.2 software update to note that the devices now support FaceTime HD in crisp 1080p resolution over Wi-Fi connections.
The following models support FaceTime HD (1080p) over Wi-Fi:
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone SE (2020)
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
Keep in mind that the latest iPhone 12 family have supported FaceTime video calling in 1080p over both Wi-Fi and 5G cellular connections from day one. On older iPhone models, FaceTime over cellular is limited to 720p resolution. FaceTime HD is unsupported on iPads.
Previously, FaceTime Video over Wi-Fi was limited to 720p on older devices so this is quite a noticeable jump in video quality that will be appreciated by everyone who relies on FaceTime to keep in touch with friends and family. According to MacMagazine’s testing, the improvement to FaceTime HD on older iPhones is “quite noticeable”.