What is "FaceTime"? What iPhone, iPad, and iPod models are compatible with FaceTime?

In marketing copy at the time it was released, Apple formally promoted "FaceTime" as:

Phone calls like you've never seen before. People have been dreaming about video calling for decades. iPhone 4 makes it a reality. With the tab of a button, you can wave hello to your kids, share a smile from across the glove, or watch your best friend laugh at your stories.

In basic terms, FaceTime allows for "video chats" in the same way that iChat, Skype, and other programs on desktop or notebook computers had made it possible to video conference for many years.

FaceTime also takes advantage of the dual cameras on applicable iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices so you can engage in a video conference using both. For example, you can start with the front mounted camera (so your counterpart can see you) and then switch over to the rear camera to show the counterpart what you and the device "see."

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (FaceTime)

FaceTime Inspiration & History

Readers in Europe and Asia no doubt note that mobile video chat had been available for years prior to the launch of the iPhone 4, but the iPhone 4 was the first iPhone to support Apple's then new FaceTime video call technology.

As often is the case with Apple innovations, the company made it particularly simple to use. It's even possible to call someone with a compatible iPhone using the traditional mobile phone functionality and switch over to FaceTime. Once you switch to FaceTime you no longer are using mobile minutes, but you cannot switch back to the mobile without ending the FaceTime session and redialing the phone number.

When this Q&A was first published on July 11, 2010, FaceTime only was compatible with the iPhone 4 and FaceTime calls only could be made between two iPhone 4 models over Wi-Fi (FaceTime over 3G was not supported until the release of the iPhone 4s and iOS 6 and FaceTime audio calling without video was not supported until the release of iOS 7).

As EveryiPhone.com speculated at the time of initial publication, it was a safe bet that FaceTime functionality would be provided by future iPod touch and iPad models and maybe even the Mac. Sure enough, Apple subsequently released FaceTime for the iPad 2 and later models as well as the iPod touch 4th Gen and later models and the Mac (running Mac OS X 10.6.6 "Snow Leopard" or later).

FaceTime Supported iPhone, iPad & iPod touch Devices

All modern iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices support FaceTime. Odds are good that your device supports it and the presence of the green "FaceTime" app is all you need for confirmation.

However, if you cannot locate the app, the device will not turn on, or you are not certain which iPhone, iPad, or iPad touch you have, these models can be identified externally by Model Number precisely enough to determine whether or not it supports FaceTime. The model number is listed in small type on the back of each device toward the bottom.

The early iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models that do not support or that do not fully support FaceTime are:

* The iPhone 4 and iPad 2 models support FaceTime over Wi-Fi, but not over a cellular data connection.

† The iPod touch 4th Gen models do not support FaceTime audio calling because they cannot run iOS 7.

All later iPhone, iPad and iPod touch models do fully support FaceTime.

No vintage iPod models from outside the iPod touch line -- iPod, iPod classic, iPod mini, iPod nano, or iPod shuffle -- support FaceTime at all.

Everyi.com's Ultimate iLookup feature can identify these devices by the Model Numbers above, Order Numbers from around the world, and by device Serial Numbers, too.

FaceTime Summary

Ultimately, although FaceTime wasn't the first video chat application, it initially worked quite well and it was able to change mobile communication dramatically for many people. These days, it's hard to even imagine a world where video calling was a rarity.