One of the biggest losses faced by those users shifting from Apple to Android is the lack of FaceTime. Introduced in 2010 for the iPhone 4, FaceTime is a built-in video calling app that allows iOS users to video call each other using the dialer. While not the only video calling app in the world, it is certainly the slickest. If you’re looking to FaceTime With Android you’re unfortunately out of luck, but there are alternatives.
As far as I know, Apple has no plans to make FaceTime available to third parties. It is too much of a draw for iOS users and we all know how protective Apple is of its properties. I can see no point at which Apple might make such a core feature of iOS available to the competition.
There are lot of other apps available that can do much the same thing though. Some are even more powerful and easy to use than FaceTime. One such alternative is built into Android, Google Hangouts.
Google Hangouts
Using Google Hangouts for video calls is very simple.
1. Navigate to Hangouts and select a contact.
2. Tap the video icon in the top right of the screen and you should see something like the above image.
3. Tap Invite and await the other party to accept the invitation and click the link they received.
4. You should now be able to initiate a video call.
You can also video call from the desktop directly from Google Hangouts.
Facetime alternatives on the Google Play Store
There are dozens of alternatives that allow video calls using Android. Just visit the Google Play Store, read reviews or download the app your friends use. The rest should be a case of following the instructions within the app.
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