Apple Saw Record Number of FaceTime Calls On Christmas

As people stayed away from travel and celebrated the holidays from their homes this December, Apple saw the highest volume of FaceTime calls ever on Christmas.

macbook air facetime camera
Apple CEO Tim Cook shared the tidbit during today's earnings call covering the first fiscal quarter of 2021, but he did not give specific numbers on how many ‌FaceTime‌ calls were placed.

Online video communication services like ‌FaceTime‌ and Zoom have seen major growth over the course of the last year as people aim to stay in touch with loved ones, friends, and coworkers while social distancing.

Cook also said that Apple saw a record number of device activations during the last week of the quarter as people received Apple products as gifts, and there were new retail records driven by the performance of the online Apple Store.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
M4 MacBook Pros Thumb

M4 MacBook Pro Uses Quantum Dot Display Technology

Thursday November 14, 2024 4:19 pm PST by
The M4 MacBook Pro models feature quantum dot display technology, according to display analyst Ross Young. Apple used a quantum dot film instead of a red KSF phosphor film, a change that provides more vibrant, accurate color results. Young says that Apple has opted for KSF for prior MacBook Pro models because it doesn't use toxic element cadmium (typical for quantum dot) and is more...
AirPods Crackling Feature

Apple Customers Sue Over Unfixed AirPods Pro Crackling Issue

Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:01 am PST by
A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds. A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, ...
google gemini

Google Releases Standalone Gemini AI App for iPhone

Thursday November 14, 2024 2:54 am PST by
Google has launched its dedicated Gemini artificial intelligence app for iPhone users, expanding beyond the previous limited integration within the main Google app. The standalone app offers enhanced functionality, including support for Gemini Live and iOS-specific features like Dynamic Island integration. The new app allows iPhone users to interact with Google's AI through text or voice...
maxresdefault

M4 Max MacBook Pro: Real-World Usage Tests

Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:59 am PST by
Apple last week replaced the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the new M4 Max MacBook Pro, and we picked up one of the new high-end MacBook Pro machines to see how it compares to the prior model with both benchmarks and real-world tests. We tested an M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB RAM against an M3 Max MacBook Pro with similar specs. The two machines look similar, but the display on...
iphone passcode green

iOS 18 Security Feature Causes iPhone to Reboot After Three Days of Inactivity

Thursday November 14, 2024 2:19 pm PST by
With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that causes the iPhone to reboot every three days, security researchers have confirmed (via TechCrunch). In a demo video, security researcher Jiska Classen proved that an iPhone left untouched for 72 hours will automatically restart, and Graykey manufacturer also Magnet Forensics wrote a blog post about the feature. After a reboot, an iPhone is more...

Top Rated Comments

Apple_Robert Avatar
50 months ago
How in the world is people sharing Christmas using FaceTime political?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dpcanon Avatar
50 months ago
I worked on Christmas Day(ICU nurse) and helped make a bunch of FaceTime and duo calls. With covid, we’re not allowing visitors so that was the only joy the the patients could have.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
50 months ago

Ignore my ignorance but how do they even know this? Privacy much?
Probably a simple counter:

begin
if start_of_day then set facetime_calls = 0;
set facetime_calls = facetime_calls +1;
end;
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
50 months ago

Considering we had to share Christmas with our sister over FaceTime because she was self-isolating, this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
We had to do the same. It is the first time that our family was not together for Christmas, and it felt terrible (and really odd).
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Minxy Avatar
50 months ago
I don't mean to be pedantic but... shouldn't the headline be 'Apple saw record number of FaceTime calls at Christmas' or 'On Christmas Day'?

I'm ready to be told i'm wrong!

[HEADING=2][/HEADING]
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcfrazieriv Avatar
50 months ago
Wonder what percent of those calls weren't actually showing face.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)