【Gary Eberhart Archives】

The Gary Eberhart Archivesintroduction of group FaceTime was a revolution for virtual group hangouts everywhere. But the group FaceTime interface was a bit confusing, with randomly sized bubbles floating around, and no clear indication of who was speaking.

FaceTime on iOS 15, which launched on Sept. 20, 2021, has given us the gift of Grid View, which solves this small but annoying problem. Turning on Grid View sorts your video chat participants into neat squares across your screen, and a white outline appears around the box of whoever is talking.

The best part? All of the navigation is right in the FaceTime interface itself, and won't require you to exit the call to rummage around in your phone settings.

To activate Grid Mode, make sure you're in a group FaceTime.

Grid Mode is technically available on solo FaceTimes too, but it literally doesn't look any different. To get the full effect, make sure you're in a FaceTime with at least three other people.

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I prefer the group chat method, personally. Credit: screenshot: apple But the FaceTime app is just as easy! Credit: screenshot: apple

We assume everyone here knows how to make a FaceTime group. But in case you need a little refresher, here it is: You can either pull up your favorite group chat and just hit the FaceTime icon in the upper right corner to video call everyone in the chat, or head to your FaceTime app, tap "New FaceTime," and input whoever you'd like to call.

Once on the call, tap on the screen to pull up the tool bar.

FaceTime's chaotic default mode, with you, the user, in the bottom right. Tap where the arrow is pointing for settings. Credit: screenshot: apple

At the top of your screen you'll see the various settings you can mess with, like mute, video on/off, and SharePlay. Above all of the settings should be the name of the call (if made via a FaceTime link) or the names of the people in the call. Tap that, and you should see additional call settings on a new screen.

Tap on "Grid Layout," and the button should turn white.

White button means you have it on. Credit: screenshot: apple

If the button turns opaque and white, you have successfully turned Grid View on. Tap "Done," and enjoy your perfectly organized group FaceTime call.

A three-person group FaceTime in Grid View (Four people if you count the author in the bottom right corner). Credit: screenshot: apple

Grid View won't stay on for all of your group calls automatically, which is a tad irksome if you find you like this view significantly better. If you for some reason prefer the chaotic bubbles, you can always return to the call settings and turn the feature back off.

This article originally published and in July 2021 and was updated in Sept. 2021.

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