At the beginning of September, Apple brought CallKit framework with iOS 10, which allows voice calls received on third party apps to appear on the lockscreen. So, thanks to the new update, from now on, when someone will call you on Facebook, you will see the caller’s Messenger profile info on the lockscreen of your iPhone, as well as controls for dialpad, mute and a speakerphone toggle.
Previously, when you got an incoming call on Messenger, you saw only a basic alert banner. But since Facebook has received a new update that added iOS 10 CallKit support, now you see more information about the person who calls you, and if you’re in the mood to launch a video conversation, you will be taken to the Messenger app.
When you’re in the middle of a conversation on Facebook and want to switch to another app, you will see an active call banner at the top of the screen, which will disappear when you will end the call. Also, if you’re using CarPlay, you will get notifications and Messenger calls while driving your car, and you won’t even need to touch your iPhone to check who’s bothering you.
If you enable Apple’s driving mode, most of the iPhone alerts are put on silence, but CarPlay supports Facebook and you won’t have any problems receiving noisy calls from your friends.
Unfortunately, there’s not CarPlay icon and Siri support for Facebook Messenger, which means that you won’t be able to make voice calls while driving. However, in the near future, Facebook will add full CarPlay and Siri support to its application. WhatsApp and Viber are two other applications that received iOS 10 CallKit support.
There are many third-party providers that are expected to take advantage of CallKit SDK and this step will be appreciated by iOS users, but telecom carriers will not be too excited because they will lose ground and people will be less interested in their products.
