Apple FaceTime calls long banned in United Arab Emirates apparently working? Details inside

The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority in the UAE did not reply quickly to a request for comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment either.

FaceTime conversations seemed to be operating in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, indicating relaxation of longstanding prohibitions on Apple's software in the federation of seven sheikhdoms. There was no official statement on the subject. The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority in the UAE did not reply quickly to a request for comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment either. Journalists from the Associated Press were able to make FaceTime voice and video calls with decent sound quality to persons within and outside the nation.

The UAE, which is home to the oil-rich capital of Abu Dhabi and the free-wheeling financial centre of Dubai, has long prohibited internet calling applications such as WhatsApp and FaceTime, ostensibly to preserve the earnings of its monopoly state-run telecommunications firms. Authorities, however, have not officially explained the restriction. Typically, Apple iPhones and PCs sold in the UAE do not have FaceTime calling software. The ban appears to have been lifted on calls made using Skype, Facebook-owned WhatsApp, and other comparable online services on Sunday.

After a year's delay owing to the epidemic, Dubai inaugurated its huge world's fair earlier this month, hoping to draw millions of tourists from around the world. Visitors may conduct WhatsApp and FaceTime conversations on the vast Expo fairgrounds in Dubai's southern desert. The authorities haven't said anything about the easing of limitations. In the past, such programmes have momentarily worked in the UAE before being interrupted due to internet filtering changes.

In other news, users may review and rate Apple programmes such as Mail, Music, News, Stocks, and Calculator. The latest changes, first noticed by 9to5Mac, came after iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 for iPhones and iPads, respectively. The app store listings, on the other hand, continue to lack the amount of downloads that the Google Play app store has showed for quite some time. Several of Apple's native programmes now receive low ratings; nevertheless, it is too early to draw any conclusions.

Apple Music, the company's most popular app, now has 3.6 stars (out of a possible five) from 309 ratings, while Apple Podcasts has two stars from 160 ratings. Weather earned 3.7 stars out of 132 votes, while Apple Watch received 3.5 stars out of 82 votes. The Translate software has just 2.2 stars, and users are comparing it to Google Translate in the reviews section. Among the top-rated apps were Find My iPhone, which earned 4.2 stars, and Voice Memos, which received 4.1 stars. Other popular Apple apps, such as Calculator, Apple Maps, and Apple TV, have ratings of 3.5, 3, and 3.3, respectively.