I'm using an AVAudioConverter object to decode an OPUS stream for VoIP. The decoding itself works well, however, whenever the stream stalls (no more audio packet is available to decode because of network instability) this can be heard in crackling / abrupt stop in decoded audio. OPUS can mitigate this by indicating packet loss by passing a null pointer in the C-library to
int opus_decode_float (OpusDecoder * st, const unsigned char * data, opus_int32 len, float * pcm, int frame_size, int decode_fec), see https://opus-codec.org/docs/opus_api-1.2/group__opus__decoder.html#ga9c554b8c0214e24733a299fe53bb3bd2.
However, with AVAudioConverter using Swift I'm constructing an AVAudioCompressedBuffer like so:
let compressedBuffer = AVAudioCompressedBuffer(
format: VoiceEncoder.Constants.networkFormat,
packetCapacity: 1,
maximumPacketSize: data.count
)
compressedBuffer.byteLength = UInt32(data.count)
compressedBuffer.packetCount = 1
compressedBuffer.packetDescriptions!
.pointee.mDataByteSize = UInt32(data.count)
data.copyBytes(
to: compressedBuffer.data
.assumingMemoryBound(to: UInt8.self),
count: data.count
)
where data: Data contains the raw OPUS frame to be decoded.
How can I specify data loss in this context and cause the AVAudioConverter to output PCM data whenever no more input data is available?
More context:
I'm specifying the audio format like this:
static let frameSize: UInt32 = 960
static let sampleRate: Float64 = 48000.0
static var networkFormatStreamDescription =
AudioStreamBasicDescription(
mSampleRate: sampleRate,
mFormatID: kAudioFormatOpus,
mFormatFlags: 0,
mBytesPerPacket: 0,
mFramesPerPacket: frameSize,
mBytesPerFrame: 0,
mChannelsPerFrame: 1,
mBitsPerChannel: 0,
mReserved: 0
)
static let networkFormat =
AVAudioFormat(
streamDescription:
&networkFormatStreamDescription
)!
I've tried 1) setting byteLength and packetCount to zero and 2) returning nil but setting .haveData in the AVAudioConverterInputBlock I'm using with no success.
Audio
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I'm working on adding CarPlay support to an audio app and am running into an issue. Occasionally, when a user opens the app from CarPlay while the main app scene is either not connected or is currently in the background, I will receive an error when attempting to activate the audio session. The code below mimics my setup:
do {
try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback, mode: .spokenAudio)
try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true)
} catch {
print(error) // NSOSStatusErrorDomain - 560557684: Session activation failed
}
That error code maps to AVAudioSession.ErrorCode.cannotInterruptOthers.
Once in this state, all subsequent attempts to play different pieces of content will fail. However, things will start working normally if the user opens the app on their phone and tries again from CarPlay (while the app is in the foreground on their phone).
I'm not sure why it would behave this way and want to note that I do have the audio background mode capability enabled.
Has anyone else encountered this? Are there any workarounds or changes I could make to prevent this from happening?
AVAudioFormat has no Swift concurrency annotations but the documentation states "Instances of this class are immutable."
This made me always assume it was safe to pass AVAudioFormat instances around. Is this the case? If so can it be marked as Sendable? Am I missing something?
How does a third party developer go about supporting the new Enhanced Dialogue option for video apps in tvOS 18?
If an app is using the standard AVPlayerViewController, I had assumed it would be a simple-ish matter of building against the tvOS 18 SDK but apparently not, the options don't appear, not even greyed out.
I'm writing a simple app for iOS and I'd like to be able to do some text to speech in it. I have a basic audio manager class with a "speak" function:
import Foundation
import AVFoundation
class AudioManager {
static let shared = AudioManager()
var audioPlayer: AVAudioPlayer?
var isPlaying: Bool {
return audioPlayer?.isPlaying ?? false
}
var playbackPosition: TimeInterval = 0
func playSound(named name: String) {
guard let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: name, withExtension: "mp3") else {
print("Sound file not found")
return
}
do {
if audioPlayer == nil || !isPlaying {
audioPlayer = try AVAudioPlayer(contentsOf: url)
audioPlayer?.currentTime = playbackPosition
audioPlayer?.prepareToPlay()
audioPlayer?.play()
} else {
print("Sound is already playing")
}
} catch {
print("Error playing sound: \(error.localizedDescription)")
}
}
func stopSound() {
if let player = audioPlayer {
playbackPosition = player.currentTime
player.stop()
}
}
func speak(text: String) {
let synthesizer = AVSpeechSynthesizer()
let utterance = AVSpeechUtterance(string: text)
utterance.voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: "en-GB")
synthesizer.speak(utterance)
}
}
And my app shows text in a ScrollView:
ScrollView {
Text(self.description)
.padding()
.foregroundColor(.black)
.font(.headline)
.background(Color.gray.opacity(0))
}.onAppear {
AudioManager.shared.speak(text: self.description)
}
However, the text doesn't get read out (in the simulator). I see some output in the console:
Error fetching voices: Swift.DecodingError.dataCorrupted(Swift.DecodingError.Context(codingPath: [], debugDescription: "Invalid container metadata for _UnkeyedDecodingContainer, found keyedGraphEncodingNodeID", underlyingError: nil)). Using fallback voices.
I'm probably doing something wrong here, but not sure what.
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I'm working on a project to support spatial audio editing, using this sample project as a reference: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cinematic/editing-spatial-audio-with-an-audio-mix
This sample works well on an unedited capture, but does not work for a capture that has already been edited.
The failure is occurring at "let audioInfo = try await CNAssetSpatialAudioInfo(asset: myAsset)", which is throwing "no eligible audio tracks in asset".
I also find that for already edited captures, if i use CNAssetSpatialAudioInfo.assetContainsSpatialAudio, it returns false.
What i mean by "already edited" is that if I take a spatial capture with my iPhone 16, and then edit that capture in the Photos app using the Cinematic effect, and then save the edited output (e.g. edited_capture.mov), I can't import that edited_capture.mov into my project as a spatial audio asset.
Is this intentional behavior or a bug?
If it's intentional, can you describe why?
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
Hi,
our CourAudio server plugin utilizes the SystemConfiguration.framework to store and restore specific shared system wide settings.
While our application can authenticate to utilize the SystemConfiguration.framework to gain write access to the shared configuration settings the CoreAudio server plugin obviously can't have any user interaction and therefor does not authenticate.
Is it possible to authenticate the CoreAudio server plugin to gain write permissions? Are there any entitlements or other means that would allow this?
Thanks!
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
Tags:
System Configuration
Core Audio
Inter-process communication
Service Management
I noticed that while playing back the same tracks via MusicKit on different OSes I get different results regarding the audio files being streamed.
Playing back a lossless file with 24Bit 48kHz and watching the Console for RemotePlayerService I get:
on iPadOS: Lossless; groupID: audio-alac-stereo-48000-24; bitDepth: 24-bit; sampleRate: 48khz; codec: alac; channels: 2; layout: Stereo;
on macOS: Creating AudioQueue with format:'paac', framesPerPacket:1024, sampleRate:44100
While the iPad looks perfect, the Mac does not. Is there a way to fix this issue on macOS.
BTW: I switched the Audio-Midi Settings before, after and while the macOS App was lunched. I also switched to different output devices. I wasn't able to change the bad audio-output on the mac. I tested this under Sequoia 15.5 and Tahoe beta 1, Xcode 16.4 and 26 beta 1.
The AudioVariants of the Album/Tracks are .dolbyAtmos, .lossless, .lossyStereo
Apple Music displays Lossless 24 Bit/48 kHz ALAC when clicking on the playercontroll icon on macOS
I hope there are only some missing or misconfigured properties to get macOS up to par.
Thanks :-)
Hey folks, I'm running into an odd issue suddenly with an app that had a working MusicKit integration before.
I'm using ApplicationMusicPlayer to play Apple Music albums and songs. I'm testing on a physical device, signed in to Apple ID, and with a valid subscription. Apple Music via the first-party app works entirely fine on this device.
Attempting to play back any content at all gives the log:
<ICUserIdentityStoreACAccountBackend: 0x1070bf3e0> Failed to initialize primary apple account, error=Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store}
[ICUserIdentityStore] - initializing account histories with activeAccountDSID = nil, activeLockerAccountDSID = nil, timestamp = 14605951908
[ICUserIdentityStore] Failed to fetch local store account with error: Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store}.
The album artwork, track names, etc, all appear in the control center playback controls, but the music doesn't play. Trying to trigger playback with control center just results in it skipping to the next track, which doesn't play either.
This exact code used to work. I have the MusicKit service selected in Apple Connect. Since this isn't entitlement-based, I'm not sure how else to check that I'm set up correctly.
I've tried deleting/reinstalling the app, restarting the device, cleaning/rebuilding, and deleting DerivedData, to no avail.
Any help?
Running Xcode 16.4 (16F6), testing on iOS 18.5 (22F76)
I’m an amateur developer working on a free utility for composers/producers, for which the macOS release needs to create and name RTP-MIDI sessions in Audio MIDI Setup from the command line (so I can ship a small C helper instead of telling users to click through the UI). Here’s what I’ve tried so far, without luck:
• Plist hacks: Injecting entries into ~/Library/Audio/MIDI Configurations/*.mcfg works when AMS is closed, but AMS immediately locks and reverts my changes when it’s open.
• CoreMIDI C API: I can create virtual ports with MIDISourceCreate, but attempting MIDIObjectGetDataProperty on the apple.midirtp.session plugin always returns err –10836.
• Obj-C & Swift: Loading MIDINetworkSession and calling defaultSession, init, setNetworkName: and setting enabled = YES doesn’t produce a new session object in the Network panel.
• dlopen/dlsym: I extracted the real CoreMIDI binary out of the dyld shared cache and tried binding _MIDINetworkSessionCreate, _SetName, _SetEnabled, etc., but all the symbols come back null or my tool segfaults.
• Plugin registration: I’ve pulled the factory UUID (70C9C5EA-7C65-11D8-B317-000393A34B5A) from /System/Library/Extensions/AppleMIDIRTPDriver.plugin/Contents/Info.plist and called CFPlugInRegisterFactories, but it still never exposes the session-creation calls.
At this point I’m convinced I’m either loading the wrong binary or missing one critical step in registering the RTP-MIDI plugin’s private API. Can anyone point me to:
The exact path of the dylib or bundle that actually exports the MIDINetworkSessionCreate/MIDINetworkSessionSetName/MIDINetworkSessionSetEnabled symbols?
A minimal working snippet (C or Obj-C) that reliably creates and names a Network-MIDI session?
Any pointers, sample code, or even ideas about where Apple hides this functionality on macOS 15 would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
Hello,
We are developing a real-time speech recognition application and are utilizing AVAudioEngine with voice processing enabled on the input node. However, we have observed that enabling this mode interferes with the built-in iOS screen recording feature - specifically, the recorded video does not capture any audio when this mode is active.
Since we want users to be able to record their experience within our app, this issue significantly impacts our functionality. Is there a known workaround or recommended approach to ensure that both voice processing and screen recording can function simultaneously?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Hi, when using ApplicationMusicPlayer from MusicKit my app automatically gets the media controls on the lock screen: Play/ Pause, Skip Buttons, Playback Position etc.
I would like to customize these. Tried a bunch of things, e.g. using MPRemoteCommandCenter. So far I haven't had any success.
Does anyone know how I can customize the media controls of ApplicationMusicPlayer.
Thank you.
Hi,
I’m an iOS developer building an app with an use case that needs advanced playback on Apple Music subscription streams, specifically:
• Real-time tempo change (BPM) during playback — i.e., time-stretch with key-lock, not just crossfade.
• Beat-matched transitions between tracks.
From what I can tell, this capability seems to exist only for approved partners and isn’t available through public MusicKit.
Question: What’s the official request path to be evaluated for that restricted partner entitlement (application form, questionnaire, NDA, or internal team/BD contact)? If the entitlement identifier is internal, how can I get my account routed to the right Apple Music team?
For reference, publicly announced partners include Algoriddim djay, Serato DJ Pro, rekordbox (AlphaTheta), and Engine DJ—all of which appear to implement mixing features that imply advanced playback (tempo/beat-matching) on Apple Music content. I’d prefer not to share product details publicly for the moment and can provide specifics privately if needed.
Thanks in advance!
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
Tags:
Apple Music API
FairPlay Streaming
MusicKit
AVFoundation
Hello,
I have an iOS app that is recording audio that is working fine on iPads/iPhones. It asks for microphone permission and after that recording works.
I installed the same app on my M3 MacBook via TestFlight since iPad apps are supposed to work without a change that way. The app starts fine and everything, but it never asks for Microphone permission, so I can't record.
Do I need to do something to make this happen (this is not macCatalyst, its running the arm64 iPhone binary on macOS)
thanks
Issue:
Under certain conditions, using CallKit does not automatically enable the microphone.
Steps to Reproduce:
1.Start an outgoing call, then the user manually mutes the audio.
2.Receive a native incoming call, end the current call, then answer the new incoming call.(This order is important.)
3.End the incoming call.
4.Start another outgoing call and observe the microphone; do not manually mute or unmute.
Actual Behavior:
The audio icon indicates that the audio is unmuted, but the microphone remains off, and the small yellow dot in the top status bar (which represents the microphone) does not appear.
Expected Behavior:
The microphone should be on, consistent with the audio icon display, and the small yellow dot should appear in the top status bar.
Device:
iPhone 16 pro & iPhone 15 pro, iOS 18.0+
Can it be reproduced using speakerbox(CallKit Demo)?
YES
I am unable to access the Int32 error from the errors that CoreAudio throws in Swift type AudioHardwareError. This is critical. There is no way to access the errors or even create an AudioHardwareError to test for errors.
do {
_ = try AudioHardwareDevice(id: 0).streams // will throw
} catch {
if let error = error as? AudioHardwareError { // cast to AudioHardwareError
print(error) // prints error code but not the errorDescription
}
}
How can get reliably get the error.Int32? Or create a AudioHardwareError with an error constant? There is no way for me to handle these error with code or run tests without knowing what the error is.
On top of that, by default the error localizedDescription does not contain the errorDescription unless I extend AudioHardwareError with CustomStringConvertible.
extension AudioHardwareError: @retroactive CustomStringConvertible {
public var description: String {
return self.localizedDescription
}
}
I've been generating new Audio Unit Extension apps with Xcode 16 (and newer), and although they generally work initially, it is easy (although I'm not sure how to do it reliably) to cause the app to no longer be able to instantiate the audiounit. Generally the call to AVAudioUnit.findComponent fails and SimplePlayEngine hits the fatalError("Failed to find component with type...")
In the most recent project, merely adding files to the extension (without making any use of them) caused it to go off the rails.
If I "Archive" the app+plugin, there is no audio unit extension in the bundle.
If I switch to the audiounit extension and build it it's fine. If I look at the build folder in Library/Developer/Xcode/project_folder the extension_name.appex is there.
Any ideas? If I can coax an unmodified audio unit extension project to exhibit this behavior I'll attach it here. Right now what I have has code I don't want to share.
I'm experiencing audio issues while developing for visionOS when playing PCM data through AVAudioPlayerNode.
Issue Description:
Occasionally, the speaker produces loud popping sounds or distorted noise
This occurs during PCM audio playback using AVAudioPlayerNode
The issue is intermittent and doesn't happen every time
Technical Details:
Platform: visionOS
Device: vision pro / simulator
Audio Framework: AVFoundation
Audio Node: AVAudioPlayerNode
Audio Format: PCM
I would appreciate any insights on:
Common causes of audio distortion with AVAudioPlayerNode
Recommended best practices for handling PCM playback in visionOS
Potential configuration issues that might cause this behavior
Has anyone encountered similar issues or found solutions? Any guidance would be greatly helpful.
Thank you in advance!
I am developing an iOS app that needs to play spoken audio on demand from a server, while ducking the audio of background music from another app (e.g., SoundtrackYourBrand or Apple Music). This must work even when the app is in the background, and the server dictates when and what audio is played. Ideally, the message should be played within a minute of the server requesting it.
Current Attempt & Observations
I initially tried using Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) silent notifications to send a URL to an audio file, which the app would then play using AVPlayer.
This works consistently when the app is active, but in the background, it only works about 60% of the time.
In cases where it fails, iOS ducks the background music (e.g., from SoundtrackYourBrand) but never plays the spoken audio.
Interestingly, when I play the audio without enabling audio ducking, it seems to work 100% of the time from my limited testing, even in the background.
The app has background modes enabled for Audio, Background Fetch, and Remote Notifications.
Best Approach to Achieve This?
I’d like guidance on the best Apple-compliant approach to reliably play audio on command from the server, even when the app is in the background. Some possible paths:
Ensuring the app remains active in the background – Are there recommended ways to prevent the app from getting suspended, such as background tasks, a special background mode, or a persistent connection to the server?
Alternative triggering mechanisms – Would something like VoIP, Push-to-Talk, or another background service be better suited for this use case?
Built-in iOS speech synthesis (AVSpeechSynthesizer) – If playing external audio is unreliable, would generating speech dynamically from text be a more robust approach?
Streaming audio instead of sending a URL – Could continuous streaming from the server keep the app active and allow playback at the right moment?
I want to ensure the solution is reliable and works 100% of the time when needed. Any recommendations on the best approach for this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and guidance.
We are using a VoiceProcessingIO audio unit in our VoIP application on Mac. In certain scenarios, the AudioComponentInstanceNew call blocks for up to five seconds (at least two). We are using the following code to initialize the audio unit:
OSStatus status;
AudioComponentDescription desc;
AudioComponent inputComponent;
desc.componentType = kAudioUnitType_Output;
desc.componentSubType = kAudioUnitSubType_VoiceProcessingIO;
desc.componentFlags = 0;
desc.componentFlagsMask = 0;
desc.componentManufacturer = kAudioUnitManufacturer_Apple;
inputComponent = AudioComponentFindNext(NULL, &desc);
status = AudioComponentInstanceNew(inputComponent, &unit);
We are having the issue with current MacOS versions on a host of different Macs (x86 and x64 alike). It takes two to three seconds until AudioComponentInstanceNew returns.
We also see the following errors in the log multiple times:
AUVPAggregate.cpp:2560 AggInpStreamsChanged wait failed
and those right after (which I don't know if they matter to this issue):
KeystrokeSuppressorCore.cpp:44 ERROR: KeystrokeSuppressor initialization was unsuccessful. Invalid or no plist was provided. AU will be bypassed. vpStrategyManager.mm:486 Error code 2003332927 reported at GetPropertyInfo