Better late than never.
Several months after it first debuted the feature on select Android devices, Verizon announced this week it is bringing Wi-Fi calling to the iPhone.
Starting Thursday, the carrier said the iPhone 6 and all newer iOS models will come equipped with Verizon’s HD Voice and Wi-Fi calling straight out of the box. The feature will also be available to customers who have already purchased an iPhone 6 or later model through Apple’s new iOS 9.3 software update, Verizon said.
In addition to offering better voice call quality, Verizon said Wi-Fi calling allows customers to talk and surf the web at the same time. Wi-Fi calls made on a Wi-Fi connection to a domestic number are free, the company said, but those made to foreign numbers will be billed at international long distance rates.
The move makes Verizon the last of the four tier-1 U.S. carrier to offer Wi-Fi calling on the iPhone, just as it was the last to offer the feature at all when it launched Wi-Fi calling on select Android devices in December.
T-Mobile was the first to offer Wi-Fi calling to its Android users in 2007, and made the service available to iPhone customers with iOS 8 little over a year ago. In April 2015, Sprint became the second major carrier to offer Wi-Fi calling to users of the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. AT&T followed suit in October when it went live with Wi-Fi calling after lobbying for a TTY waiver from the FCC.