Dive into the technical aspects of audio on your device, including codecs, format support, and customization options.

Audio Documentation

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AVAudioMixerNode outputVolume range?
According to the header file the outputVolume properties supported range is 0.0-1.0: /*! @property outputVolume @abstract The mixer's output volume. @discussion This accesses the mixer's output volume (0.0-1.0, inclusive). @property (nonatomic) float outputVolume; However when setting the volume to 2.0 the audio does indeed play louder. Is the header file out of date and if so, what is the supported range for outputVolume? Thanks
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78
Apr ’25
Destroy MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again?
Is there a way to destroy MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again? In my app, the user has a setting to enable and disable MIDI 2.0. If MIDI 2.0 should not be supported (or if iOS version < 18), it creates a virtual destination and a virtual source. And if MIDI 2.0 should be enabled, it instead creates a MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint, which itself creates the virtual destination and source automatically. So here is my problem: I didn't find any way to destroy the MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again. There is a method to disable it (setEnabled:NO), but that doesn't destroy or hide the virtual destination and source. So when the user turns MIDI 2.0 support off, I will have two virtual destinations and sources, and cannot get rid of the 2.0 ones. What is the correct way to get rid of the MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint once it is created?
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66
Sep ’25
"Baking together" two audio tracks into one for drag-and-drop
Hi all, with my app ScreenFloat, you can record your screen, along with system- and microphone audio. Those two audio feeds are recorded into separate audio tracks in order to individually remove or edit them later on. Now, these recordings you create with ScreenFloat can be drag-and-dropped to other apps instantly. So far, so good, but some apps, like Slack, or VLC, or even websites like YouTube, do not play back multiple audio tracks, just one. So what I'm trying to do is, on dragging the video recording file out of ScreenFloat, instantly baking together the two individual audio tracks into one, and offering that new file as the drag and drop file, so that all audio is played in the target app. But it's slow. I mean, it's actually quite fast, but for drag and drop, it's slow. My approach is this: "Bake together" the two audio tracks into a one-track m4a audio file using AVMutableAudioMix and AVAssetExportSession Take the video track, add the new audio file as an audio track to it, and render that out using AVAssetExportSession For a quick benchmark, a 3'40'' movie, step 1 takes ~1.7 seconds, and step two adds another ~1.5 seconds, so we're at ~3.2 seconds. That's an eternity for a drag and drop, where the user might cancel if there's no immediate feedback. I could also do it in one step, but then I couldn't use the AV*Passthrough preset, and that makes it take around 32 seconds then, because I assume it touches the video data (which is unnecessary in this case, so I think the two-step approach here is the fastest). So, my question is, is there a faster way? The best idea I can come up with right now is, when initially recording the screen with system- and microphone audio as separate tracks, to also record both of them into a third, muted, "hidden" track I could use later on, basically eliminating the need for step one and just ripping the two single audio tracks out of the movie and only have the video and the "hidden" track (then unmuted), but I'd still have a ~1.5 second delay there. Also, there's the processing and data overhead (basically doubling the movie's audio data). All this would be great for an export operation (where one expects it to take a little time), but for a drag-and-drop operation, it's not ideal. I've discarded the idea of doing a promise file drag, because many apps do not accept those, and I want to keep wide compatibility with all sorts of apps. I'd appreciate any ideas or pointers. Thank you kindly, Matthias
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656
Mar ’25
Windows Apple Music: how to enumerate the local library or export it? Is Library.musicdb documented / API available?
Environment Windows 11 [edition/build]: [e.g., 23H2, 22631.x] Apple Music for Windows version: [e.g., 1.x.x from Microsoft Store] Library folder: C:\Users<user>\Music\Apple Music\Apple Music Library.musiclibrary Summary I need a supported way to programmatically enumerate the local Apple Music library on Windows (track file paths, playlists, etc.) for reconciliation with the on-disk Media folder. On macOS this used to be straightforward via scripting/export; on Windows I can’t find an equivalent. What I’m seeing in the library bundle Library.musicdb → not SQLite. First 4 bytes: 68 66 6D 61 ("hfma"). Library Preferences.musicdb → also starts with "hfma". artwork.sqlite → SQLite but appears to be artwork cache only (no track file paths). Extras.itdb → has SQLite format 3 header but (from a quick scan) not seeing track locations. Genius.itdb → not a SQLite database on this machine. What I’ve tried Attempted to open Library.musicdb with SQLite providers → error: “file is not a database.” Binary/string scans (ASCII, UTF-16LE/BE, null-stripped) of Library.musicdb → did not reveal file paths or obvious plist/XML/JSON blobs. The Windows Apple Music UI doesn’t appear to expose “Export Library / Export Playlist” like legacy iTunes did, and I can’t find a public API for local library enumeration on Windows. What I’m trying to accomplish Read local track entries (absolute or relative paths), detect broken links, and reconcile against the Media folder. A read-only solution is fine; I do not need to modify the library. Questions for Apple Is the Library.musicdb file format documented anywhere, or is there a supported SDK/API to enumerate the local library on Windows? Is there a supported export mechanism (CLI, UI, or API) on Windows Apple Music to dump the local library and/or playlists (XML/CSV/JSON)? Is there a Windows-specific equivalent to the old iTunes COM automation or any MusicKit surface that can return local library items (not streaming catalog) and their file locations? If none of the above exist today, is there a recommended workaround from Apple for library reconciliation on Windows (e.g., documented support for importing M3U/M3U8 to rebuild the local library from disk)? Are there any plans/timeline for adding Windows feature parity with iTunes/Music on macOS for exporting or scripting the local library? Why this matters For large personal libraries, users occasionally end up with orphaned files on disk or broken links in the app. Without an export or API, it’s difficult to audit and fix at scale on Windows. Reference details (in case it helps triage) Library.musicdb header bytes: 68-66-6D-61-A0-00-00-00-10-26-34-00-15-00-01-00 (ASCII shows hfma…). artwork.sqlite is readable but doesn’t contain track file paths (appears limited to artwork). I can supply a minimal repro tool and logs if that’s helpful. Feature request (if no current API) Add an official Export Library/Playlists action on Windows Apple Music, or Provide a read-only Windows API (or schema doc) that surfaces track file locations and playlist membership from the local library. Thanks in advance for any guidance or pointers to docs I might have missed.
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185
Sep ’25
AVAssetWriterInput Crash on appendSampleBuffer Converting PCM
Overview We are producing audio in real time from an editing application and are trying to put that on an HLS stream. We attempt to submit PCM samples through an audio writer but are getting a crash after a select number of samples have been appended. Depending on the number of audio frames in the PCM buffer, we might get more iterations before the crash but it always has the same traceback (see below). Code The setup is rather simple. We took inspiration from a few sources around the web. NSMutableDictionary *audio = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init]; [audio setObject:@(kAudioFormatMPEG4AAC) forKey:AVFormatIDKey]; [audio setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:config.audioSampleRate] // 48000 forKey:AVSampleRateKey]; [audio setObject:[NSNumber numberWithInt:config.audioChannels] // 2 forKey:AVNumberOfChannelsKey]; [audio setObject:@160000 forKey:AVEncoderBitRateKey]; m_audioConfig = [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithDictionary:audio]; m_audio = [[AVAssetWriterInput alloc] initWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeAudio outputSettings:m_audioConfig]; AVAudioFrameCount audioFrames = BUFFER_SAMPLES * bCount; AVAudioPCMBuffer *pcmBuffer = [[AVAudioPCMBuffer alloc] initWithPCMFormat:m_full.pcmFormat frameCapacity:audioFrames]; pcmBuffer.frameLength = pcmBuffer.frameCapacity; AudioChannelLayout layout; memset(&layout, 0, sizeof(layout)); layout.mChannelLayoutTag = kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Stereo; CMFormatDescriptionRef format; OSStatus stats = CMAudioFormatDescriptionCreate( kCFAllocatorDefault, pcmBuffer.format.streamDescription, sizeof(layout), &layout, 0, nil, nil, &format ); for (int i = 0; i < bCount; i++) { AudioPCM pcm; audioCallback->callback(pcm); memcpy(*(pcmBuffer.int16ChannelData) + (bufferSize * i), pcm.data, bufferSize); } size_t samplesConsumed = BUFFER_SAMPLES * bCount; CMSampleBufferRef sampleBuffer; CMSampleTimingInfo timing; timing.duration = CMTimeMake(1, config.audioSampleRate); timing.presentationTimeStamp = presentationTime; timing.decodeTimeStamp = kCMTimeInvalid; OSStatus ostatus = CMSampleBufferCreate( kCFAllocatorDefault, nil, false, nil, nil, format, (CMItemCount)pcmBuffer.frameLength, 1, &timing, 0, nil, &sampleBuffer ); //// ostatus = CMSampleBufferSetDataBufferFromAudioBufferList( sampleBuffer, kCFAllocatorDefault, kCFAllocatorDefault, kCMSampleBufferFlag_AudioBufferList_Assure16ByteAlignment, pcmBuffer.audioBufferList ); if (ostatus != noErr) { NSLog(@"fill audio sample from buffer list failed: %s", logAudioError(ostatus)); return; } ostatus = CMSampleBufferSetDataReady(sampleBuffer); if (ostatus != noErr) { NSLog(@"set sample buffer ready failed: %s", logAudioError(ostatus)); return; } // Finally we can attach it, then shove the presentation time forward [m_audio appendSampleBuffer:sampleBuffer]; The Crash The crash points towards some level of deallocation when the conversion tooling is done or has enough samples to process an output packet? It's had to say. 0 caulk 0x1a1e9532c caulk::alloc::tiered_allocator<caulk::alloc::size_range_tier<0ul, 1008ul, caulk::alloc::tree_allocator<caulk::alloc::chunk_allocator<caulk::alloc::page_allocator, caulk::alloc::bitmap_allocator, caulk::alloc::embed_block_memory, 16384ul, 16ul, 6ul>>>, caulk::alloc::size_range_tier<1009ul, 256000ul, caulk::alloc::guarded_edges_allocator<caulk::alloc::consolidating_free_map<caulk::alloc::page_allocator, 10485760ul>, 4ul>>, caulk::alloc::tracking_allocator<caulk::alloc::page_allocator>>::deallocate(caulk::alloc::block, unsigned long) + 636 1 AudioToolboxCore 0x1993fbfe4 ExtendedAudioBufferList_Destroy + 112 2 AudioToolboxCore 0x1993d5fe0 std::__1::__optional_destruct_base<ACCodecOutputBuffer, false>::~__optional_destruct_base[abi:ne180100]() + 68 3 AudioToolboxCore 0x1993d5f48 acv2::CodecConverter::~CodecConverter() + 196 4 AudioToolboxCore 0x1993d5e5c acv2::CodecConverter::~CodecConverter() + 16 5 AudioToolboxCore 0x1992574d8 std::__1::vector<std::__1::unique_ptr<acv2::AudioConverterBase, std::__1::default_delete<acv2::AudioConverterBase>>, std::__1::allocator<std::__1::unique_ptr<acv2::AudioConverterBase, std::__1::default_delete<acv2::AudioConverterBase>>>>::__clear[abi:ne180100]() + 84 6 AudioToolboxCore 0x199259acc acv2::AudioConverterChain::RebuildConverterChain(acv2::ChainBuildSettings const&) + 116 7 AudioToolboxCore 0x1992596ec acv2::AudioConverterChain::SetProperty(unsigned int, unsigned int, void const*) + 1808 8 AudioToolboxCore 0x199324acc acv2::AudioConverterV2::setProperty(unsigned int, unsigned int, void const*) + 84 9 AudioToolboxCore 0x199327f08 with_resolved(OpaqueAudioConverter*, caulk::function_ref<int (AudioConverterAPI*)>) + 60 10 AudioToolboxCore 0x1993281e4 AudioConverterSetProperty + 72 11 MediaToolbox 0x1a7566c2c FigSampleBufferProcessorCreateWithAudioCompression + 2296 12 MediaToolbox 0x1a754db08 0x1a70b5000 + 4819720 13 MediaToolbox 0x1a754dab4 FigMediaProcessorCreateForAudioCompressionWithFormatWriter + 100 14 MediaToolbox 0x1a77ebb98 0x1a70b5000 + 7564184 15 MediaToolbox 0x1a7804158 0x1a70b5000 + 7663960 16 MediaToolbox 0x1a7801da0 0x1a70b5000 + 7654816 17 AVFCore 0x1ada530c4 -[AVFigAssetWriterTrack addSampleBuffer:error:] + 192 18 AVFCore 0x1ada55164 -[AVFigAssetWriterAudioTrack _flushPendingSampleBuffersReturningError:] + 500 19 AVFCore 0x1ada55354 -[AVFigAssetWriterAudioTrack addSampleBuffer:error:] + 472 20 AVFCore 0x1ada4ebf0 -[AVAssetWriterInputWritingHelper appendSampleBuffer:error:] + 128 21 AVFCore 0x1ada4c354 -[AVAssetWriterInput appendSampleBuffer:] + 168 22 lib_devapple_hls.dylib 0x115d2c7cc detail::AppleHLSImplementation::audioRuntime() + 1052 23 lib_devapple_hls.dylib 0x115d2d094 void* std::__1::__thread_proxy[abi:ne180100]<std::__1::tuple<std::__1::unique_ptr<std::__1::__thread_struct, std::__1::default_delete<std::__1::__thread_struct>>, void (detail::AppleHLSImplementation::*)(), detail::AppleHLSImplementation*>>(void*) + 72 24 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x196e5b2e4 _pthread_start + 136 Any insight would be welcome!
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176
Jun ’25
SpeechTranscriber extremely slow (14+ seconds) despite proper locale allocation and optimization
Using the official SwiftTranscriptionSampleApp from WWDC 2025, speech transcription takes 14+ seconds from audio input to first result, making it unusable for real-time applications. Environment iOS: 26.0 Beta Xcode: Beta 5 Device: iPhone 16 pro Sample App: Official Apple SwiftTranscriptionSampleApp from WWDC 2025 Configuration Tested Locale: en-US (properly allocated with AssetInventory.allocate(locale:)) and es-ES Setup: All optimizations applied (preheating, high priority, model retention) I started testing in my own app to replace SFSpeech API and include speech detection but after long fights with documentation (this part is quite terrible TBH) I tested the example (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/speech/bringing-advanced-speech-to-text-capabilities-to-your-app) and saw same results. I added some logs to check the specific time: 🎙️ [20:30:41.532] ✅ Analyzer started successfully - ready to receive audio! 🎙️ [20:30:41.532] Listening for transcription results... 🎙️ [20:30:56.342] 🚀 FIRST TRANSCRIPTION RESULT after 14.810s: 'Hello' (isFinal: false) Questions Is this expected performance for iOS 26 Beta, because old SFSpeech is far faster? Are there additional optimization steps for SpeechTranscriber? Should we expect significant performance improvements in later betas?
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186
Aug ’25
Spatial Audio on iOS 18 don't work as inteneded
I’m facing a problem while trying to achieve spatial audio effects in my iOS 18 app. I have tried several approaches to get good 3D audio, but the effect never felt good enough or it didn’t work at all. Also what mostly troubles me is I noticed that AirPods I have doesn’t recognize my app as one having spatial audio (in audio settings it shows "Spatial Audio Not Playing"). So i guess my app doesn't use spatial audio potential. First approach uses AVAudioEnviromentNode with AVAudioEngine. Chaining position of player as well as changing listener’s doesn’t seem to change anything in how audio plays. Here's simple how i initialize AVAudioEngine import Foundation import AVFoundation class AudioManager: ObservableObject { // important class variables var audioEngine: AVAudioEngine! var environmentNode: AVAudioEnvironmentNode! var playerNode: AVAudioPlayerNode! var audioFile: AVAudioFile? ... //Sound set up func setupAudio() { do { let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playback, mode: .default, options: []) try session.setActive(true) } catch { print("Failed to configure AVAudioSession: \(error.localizedDescription)") } audioEngine = AVAudioEngine() environmentNode = AVAudioEnvironmentNode() playerNode = AVAudioPlayerNode() audioEngine.attach(environmentNode) audioEngine.attach(playerNode) audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: environmentNode, format: nil) audioEngine.connect(environmentNode, to: audioEngine.mainMixerNode, format: nil) environmentNode.listenerPosition = AVAudio3DPoint(x: 0, y: 0, z: 0) environmentNode.listenerAngularOrientation = AVAudio3DAngularOrientation(yaw: 0, pitch: 0, roll: 0) environmentNode.distanceAttenuationParameters.referenceDistance = 1.0 environmentNode.distanceAttenuationParameters.maximumDistance = 100.0 environmentNode.distanceAttenuationParameters.rolloffFactor = 2.0 // example.mp3 is mono sound guard let audioURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "example", withExtension: "mp3") else { print("Audio file not found") return } do { audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: audioURL) } catch { print("Failed to load audio file: \(error)") } } ... //Playing sound func playSpatialAudio(pan: Float ) { guard let audioFile = audioFile else { return } // left side playerNode.position = AVAudio3DPoint(x: pan, y: 0, z: 0) playerNode.scheduleFile(audioFile, at: nil, completionHandler: nil) do { try audioEngine.start() playerNode.play() } catch { print("Failed to start audio engine: \(error)") } ... } Second more complex approach using PHASE did better. I’ve made an exemplary app that allows players to move audio player in 3D space. I have added reverb, and sliders changing audio position up to 10 meters each direction from listener but audio seems to only really change left to right (x axis) - again I think it might be trouble with the app not being recognized as spatial. //Crucial class Variables: class PHASEAudioController: ObservableObject{ private var soundSourcePosition: simd_float4x4 = matrix_identity_float4x4 private var audioAsset: PHASESoundAsset! private let phaseEngine: PHASEEngine private let params = PHASEMixerParameters() private var soundSource: PHASESource private var phaseListener: PHASEListener! private var soundEventAsset: PHASESoundEventNodeAsset? // Initialization of PHASE init{ do { let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playback, mode: .default, options: []) try session.setActive(true) } catch { print("Failed to configure AVAudioSession: \(error.localizedDescription)") } // Init PHASE Engine phaseEngine = PHASEEngine(updateMode: .automatic) phaseEngine.defaultReverbPreset = .mediumHall phaseEngine.outputSpatializationMode = .automatic //nothing helps // Set listener position to (0,0,0) in World space let origin: simd_float4x4 = matrix_identity_float4x4 phaseListener = PHASEListener(engine: phaseEngine) phaseListener.transform = origin phaseListener.automaticHeadTrackingFlags = .orientation try! self.phaseEngine.rootObject.addChild(self.phaseListener) do{ try self.phaseEngine.start(); } catch { print("Could not start PHASE engine") } audioAsset = loadAudioAsset() // Create sound Source // Sphere soundSourcePosition.translate(z:3.0) let sphere = MDLMesh.newEllipsoid(withRadii: vector_float3(0.1,0.1,0.1), radialSegments: 14, verticalSegments: 14, geometryType: MDLGeometryType.triangles, inwardNormals: false, hemisphere: false, allocator: nil) let shape = PHASEShape(engine: phaseEngine, mesh: sphere) soundSource = PHASESource(engine: phaseEngine, shapes: [shape]) soundSource.transform = soundSourcePosition print(soundSourcePosition) do { try phaseEngine.rootObject.addChild(soundSource) } catch { print ("Failed to add a child object to the scene.") } let simpleModel = PHASEGeometricSpreadingDistanceModelParameters() simpleModel.rolloffFactor = rolloffFactor soundPipeline.distanceModelParameters = simpleModel let samplerNode = PHASESamplerNodeDefinition( soundAssetIdentifier: audioAsset.identifier, mixerDefinition: soundPipeline, identifier: audioAsset.identifier + "_SamplerNode") samplerNode.playbackMode = .looping do {soundEventAsset = try phaseEngine.assetRegistry.registerSoundEventAsset( rootNode: samplerNode, identifier: audioAsset.identifier + "_SoundEventAsset") } catch { print("Failed to register a sound event asset.") soundEventAsset = nil } } //Playing sound func playSound(){ // Fire new sound event with currently set properties guard let soundEventAsset else { return } params.addSpatialMixerParameters( identifier: soundPipeline.identifier, source: soundSource, listener: phaseListener) let soundEvent = try! PHASESoundEvent(engine: phaseEngine, assetIdentifier: soundEventAsset.identifier, mixerParameters: params) soundEvent.start(completion: nil) } ... } Also worth mentioning might be that I only own personal team account
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950
Nov ’25
Unable to match music with shazamkit for Android
Hello, i can successfully match music using shazamkit on Apple using SwiftUI, a simple app that let user to load an audio file and exctracts the relative match, while i am unable to match music using shamzamkit on Android. I am trying to make the same simple app but i cannot match music as i get MATCH_ATTEMPT_FAILED every time i try to. I don't know what i am doing wrong but the shazam part in the kotlin Android code is in this method : suspend fun processAudioFileInBackground( filePath: String, developerTokenProvider: DeveloperTokenProvider ) = withContext(Dispatchers.IO) { val bufferSize = 1024 * 1024 val audioFile = FileInputStream(filePath) val byteBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(bufferSize) byteBuffer.order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN) var bytesRead: Int while (audioFile.read(byteBuffer.array()).also { bytesRead = it } != -1) { val signatureGenerator = (ShazamKit.createSignatureGenerator(AudioSampleRateInHz.SAMPLE_RATE_44100) as ShazamKitResult.Success).data signatureGenerator.append(byteBuffer.array(), bytesRead, System.currentTimeMillis()) val signature = signatureGenerator.generateSignature() println("Signature: ${signature.durationInMs}") val catalog = ShazamKit.createShazamCatalog(developerTokenProvider, Locale.ENGLISH) val session = (ShazamKit.createSession(catalog) as ShazamKitResult.Success).data val matchResult = session.match(signature) println("MatchResult : $matchResult") setMatchResult(matchResult) byteBuffer.clear() } audioFile.close() } I noticed that changing Locale in catalog creation results in different result as i get NoMatch without exception. Can you please help me with this? Do i need to create a custom catalog?
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109
May ’25
Music Keeps cutting off
Everytime I put my AirPods in and connect them to my phone or my Mac or my iPad since the iOS 18.3 update on my devices they’ve been disconnecting without reason, pausing songs I’m in the middle of playing, and only partially reconnecting in one pod and it’s getting really frustrating
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316
Feb ’25
iOS Audio Routing - Bluetooth Output + Built-in Microphone Input
Hello! I'm experiencing an issue with iOS's audio routing system when trying to use Bluetooth headphones for audio output while also recording environmental audio from the built-in microphone. Desired behavior: Play audio through Bluetooth headset (AirPods) Record unprocessed environmental audio from the iPhone's built-in microphone Actual behavior: When explicitly selecting the built-in microphone, iOS reports it's using it (in currentRoute.inputs) However, the actual audio data received is clearly still coming from the AirPods microphone The audio is heavily processed with voice isolation/noise cancellation, removing environmental sounds Environment Details Device: iPhone 12 Pro Max iOS Version: 18.4.1 Hardware: AirPods Audio Framework: AVAudioEngine (also tried AudioQueue) Code Attempted I've tried multiple approaches to force the correct routing: func configureAudioSession() { let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() // Configure to allow Bluetooth output but use built-in mic try? session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, options: [.allowBluetoothA2DP, .defaultToSpeaker]) try? session.setActive(true) // Explicitly select built-in microphone if let inputs = session.availableInputs, let builtInMic = inputs.first(where: { $0.portType == .builtInMic }) { try? session.setPreferredInput(builtInMic) print("Selected input: \(builtInMic.portName)") } // Log the current route let route = session.currentRoute print("Current input: \(route.inputs.first?.portName ?? "None")") // Configure audio engine with native format let inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode let nativeFormat = inputNode.inputFormat(forBus: 0) inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: nativeFormat) { buffer, time in // Process audio buffer // Despite showing "Built-in Microphone" in route, audio appears to be // coming from AirPods with voice isolation applied - welp! } try? audioEngine.start() } I've also tried various combinations of: Different audio session modes (.default, .measurement, .voiceChat) Different option combinations (with/without .allowBluetooth, .allowBluetoothA2DP) Setting session.setPreferredInput() both before and after activation Diagnostic Observations When AirPods are connected: AVAudioSession.currentRoute.inputs correctly shows "Built-in Microphone" after setPreferredInput() The actual audio data received shows clear signs of AirPods' voice isolation processing Background/environmental sounds are actively filtered out... When recording a test audio played near the phone (not through the app), the recording is nearly silent. Only headset voice goes through. Questions Is there a workaround to force iOS to actually use the built-in microphone while maintaining Bluetooth output? Are there any lower-level configurations that might resolve this issue? Any insights, workarounds, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This is blocking a critical feature in my application that requires environmental audio recording while providing audio feedback through headphones 😅
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168
May ’25
AirPods with H2 and studio-quality recording - how to replicate Camera video capture
Using an iPhone Pro 12 running iOS 26.0.1, with AirPods Pro 3. Camera app does capture video with what seems to be "Studio Quality Recording". Am trying to replicate that SQR with my own Camera like app, and while I can pull audio in from the APP3 mic, and my video capture app is recording a 48,000Hz high-bitrate video, the audio still sounds non-SQR. I'm seeing bluetoothA2DP , bluetoothLE , bluetoothHFP as portType, and not sure if SQR depends on one of those? Is there sample code demonstrating a SQR capture? Nevermind video and camera, just audio even? Also, I don't understand what SQR is doing between the APP3 and the iPhone. What codec is that? What bitrate is that? If I capture video using Capture and inspect the audio stream I see mono 74.14 kbit/s MPEG-4 AAC, 48000 Hz. But I assume that's been recompressed and not really giving me any insight into the APP3 H2 transmission?
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121
Oct ’25
AVAudioEngine : Split 1x4 channel bus into 4x1 channel busses?
I'm using a 4 channel USB Audio interface, with 4 microphones, and want to process them through 4 independent effect chains. However the output from AVAudioInputNode is a single 4 channel bus. How can I split this into 4 mono busses? The following code splits the input into 4 copies, and routes them through the effects, but each bus contains all four channels. How can I remap the channels to remove the unwanted channels from the bus? I tried using channelMap on the mixer node but that had no effect. I'm currently using this code primarily on iOS but it should be portable between iOS and MacOS. It would be possible to do this through a Matrix Mixer Node, but that seems completely overkill, for such a basic operation. I'm already using a Matrix Mixer to combine the inputs, and it's not well supported in AVAudioEngine. AVAudioInputNode *inputNode=[engine inputNode]; [inputNode setVoiceProcessingEnabled:NO error:nil]; NSMutableArray *micDestinations=[NSMutableArray arrayWithCapacity:trackCount]; for(i=0;i<trackCount;i++) { fixMicFormat[i]=[AVAudioMixerNode new]; [engine attachNode:fixMicFormat[i]]; // And create reverb/compressor and eq the same way... [engine connect:reverb[i] to:matrixMixerNode fromBus:0 toBus:i format:nil]; [engine connect:eq[i] to:reverb[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:compressor[i] to:eq[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [engine connect:fixMicFormat[i] to:compressor[i] fromBus:0 toBus:0 format:nil]; [micDestinations addObject:[[AVAudioConnectionPoint alloc] initWithNode:fixMicFormat[i] bus:0] ]; } AVAudioFormat *inputFormat = [inputNode outputFormatForBus: 1]; [engine connect:inputNode toConnectionPoints:micDestinations fromBus:1 format:inputFormat];
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231
Oct ’25
AVMIDIPlayer.play() function crashes on iOS 18
It's only occurs on iOS 18+. Backtrace attached below. Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000 Termination Reason: SIGNAL 6 Abort trap: 6 Terminating Process: NoteKeys [24384] Triggered by Thread: 0 Last Exception Backtrace: 0 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d4c7cc __exceptionPreprocess + 164 (NSException.m:249) 1 libobjc.A.dylib 0x1a001f2e4 objc_exception_throw + 88 (objc-exception.mm:356) 2 CoreFoundation 0x1a2e47748 +[NSException raise:format:] + 128 (NSException.m:0) 3 AVFAudio 0x1bd41f4c8 -[AVMIDIPlayer play:] + 300 (AVMIDIPlayer.mm:145) 4 NoteKeys 0x1023c0670 SoundGenerator.playData() + 20 (SoundGenerator.swift:170) 5 NoteKeys 0x1023c0670 EditViewController.playBtnTapped(startIndex:) + 940 (EditViewController.swift:2034) 6 NoteKeys 0x1024497fc specialized Keyboard.playBtnTapped(sender:) + 1904 (Keyboard.swift:1249) 7 NoteKeys 0x10244631c Keyboard.playBtnTapped(sender:) + 4 (<compiler-generated>:0) 8 NoteKeys 0x10244631c @objc Keyboard.playBtnTapped(sender:) + 48 9 UIKitCore 0x1a58739cc -[UIApplication sendAction:to:from:forEvent:] + 100 (UIApplication.m:5816) 10 UIKitCore 0x1a58738a4 -[UIControl sendAction:to:forEvent:] + 112 (UIControl.m:942) 11 UIKitCore 0x1a58736f4 -[UIControl _sendActionsForEvents:withEvent:] + 324 (UIControl.m:1013) 12 UIKitCore 0x1a5fe8d8c -[UIButton _sendActionsForEvents:withEvent:] + 124 (UIButton.m:4198) 13 UIKitCore 0x1a5fea5a0 -[UIControl touchesEnded:withEvent:] + 400 (UIControl.m:692) 14 UIKitCore 0x1a57bb9ac -[UIWindow _sendTouchesForEvent:] + 852 (UIWindow.m:3318) 15 UIKitCore 0x1a57bb3d8 -[UIWindow sendEvent:] + 2964 (UIWindow.m:3641) 16 UIKitCore 0x1a564fb70 -[UIApplication sendEvent:] + 376 (UIApplication.m:12972) 17 UIKitCore 0x1a565009c __dispatchPreprocessedEventFromEventQueue + 1048 (UIEventDispatcher.m:2686) 18 UIKitCore 0x1a5659f3c __processEventQueue + 5696 (UIEventDispatcher.m:3044) 19 UIKitCore 0x1a5552c60 updateCycleEntry + 160 (UIEventDispatcher.m:133) 20 UIKitCore 0x1a55509d8 _UIUpdateSequenceRun + 84 (_UIUpdateSequence.mm:136) 21 UIKitCore 0x1a5550628 schedulerStepScheduledMainSection + 172 (_UIUpdateScheduler.m:1171) 22 UIKitCore 0x1a555159c runloopSourceCallback + 92 (_UIUpdateScheduler.m:1334) 23 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d20328 __CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE0_PERFORM_FUNCTION__ + 28 (CFRunLoop.c:1970) 24 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d202bc __CFRunLoopDoSource0 + 176 (CFRunLoop.c:2014) 25 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d1ddc0 __CFRunLoopDoSources0 + 244 (CFRunLoop.c:2051) 26 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d1cfbc __CFRunLoopRun + 840 (CFRunLoop.c:2969) 27 CoreFoundation 0x1a2d1c830 CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 588 (CFRunLoop.c:3434) 28 GraphicsServices 0x1eecfc1c4 GSEventRunModal + 164 (GSEvent.c:2196) 29 UIKitCore 0x1a5882eb0 -[UIApplication _run] + 816 (UIApplication.m:3844) 30 UIKitCore 0x1a59315b4 UIApplicationMain + 340 (UIApplication.m:5496) 31 NoteKeys 0x10254bc10 main + 68 (AppDelegate.swift:15) 32 dyld 0x1c870aec8 start + 2724 (dyldMain.cpp:1334) Thanks very much for any help: )
1
0
295
Feb ’25
Microphone Recording interrupts when phone ringing
I'm developing an iOS app that requires continuous audio recording. Currently, when a phone call comes in, the AVAudioSession is interrupted and recording stops completely during the ringing phase. While I understand recording should stop if the call is answered, my app needs to continue recording while the phone is merely ringing. I've observed that Apple's Voice Memos app maintains recording during incoming call rings. This indicates the hardware and iOS are capable of supporting this functionality. Request Please advise on any available AVAudioSession configurations or APIs that would allow my app to: Continue recording during an incoming call ring Only stop recording if/when the call is actually answered Impact This interruption significantly impacts the user experience and core functionality of my app. Workarounds like asking users to enable airplane mode are impractical and create a poor user experience. Questions Is there an approved way to maintain microphone access during call rings? If not currently possible, could this capability be considered for addition to a future iOS SDK? Are there any interim solutions or best practices Apple recommends for this use case? Thank you for your help. SUPPORT INFORMATION Did someone from Apple ask you to submit a code-level support request? No Do you have a focused test project that demonstrates your issue? Yes, I have a focused test project to submit with my request What code level support issue are you having? Problems with an Apple framework API in my app
2
0
115
Jun ’25
UIDocumentPickerViewController in Audiounit Extension unable to receive touches
Hello, I have an existing AUv3 instrument plugin. In the plug in, users can access files (audio files, song projects) via a UIDocumentPickerViewController In Logic Pro, (and some other hosts, but not all), the document picker is unable to receive touches, while a keyboard case is attached to the iPad. Removing the case (this is an Apple brand iPad case) allows the interactions to resume and allows me to pick files in the usual way. One of my users reports this non-responsive behavior occurs even after disconnecting their keyboard. I have fiddled with entitlements all day, and have determined that is not the issue, since the keyboard disconnection appears to fix it every time for me. Here is my, very boilerplate, presentation code : guard let type = UTType("com.my.type") else { return } let fileBrowser = UIDocumentPickerViewController(forOpeningContentTypes: [type]) fileBrowser.overrideUserInterfaceStyle = .dark fileBrowser.delegate = self fileBrowser.directoryURL = myFileFolderURL() self.present(fileBrowser, animated: true) {
2
0
514
Jul ’25
How to detect when iOS Camera app starts video recording (with Allow Audio Playback ON)?
Since iOS 18, the system setting “Allow Audio Playback” (enabled by default) allows third-party app audio to continue playing while the user is recording video with the Camera app. This has created a problem for the app I’m developing. ➡️ The problem: My app plays continuous audio in both foreground and background states. If the user starts recording video using the iOS Camera app, the app’s audio — still playing in the background — gets captured in the video — obviously an unintended behavior. Yes, the user could stop the app manually before starting the video recording, but that can’t be guaranteed. As a developer, I need a way to stop the app’s audio before the video recording begins. So far, I haven’t found a reliable way to detect when video recording starts if ‘Allow Audio Playback’ is ON. ➡️ What I’ve tried: — AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification → doesn’t fire — devicesChangedEventStream → not triggered I don’t want to request mic permission (app doesn’t use mic). also, disabling the app from playing audio in the background isn’t an option as it is a crucial part of the user experience ➡️ What I need: A reliable, supported way to detect when the Camera app begins video recording, without requiring mic access — so I can stop audio and avoid unintentional overlap with the user’s recordings. Any official guidance, workarounds, or AVFoundation techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
0
0
227
Aug ’25
PTTFramework w/ AVAudioSession
Hi all, I have spent a lot of time reading the tech note and watching the WDDC video that introduce the PTTFramework on iOS. I currently have a custom setup where I am using AVAudioEngine to schedule and play buffers that are being streamed through a call. I am looking to use the PTTFramework to allow a user to trigger this push to talk behavior from the lock screen and the various places with the system UI it provides. However I am unsure what the correct behavior is regarding the handling of the audio session. Right now I am using .playback when there is no active voice transmission so that devices such as AirPods can be in AD2P mode where applicable, and then transitioning to .playbackAndRecord category only when the mic input should become active. Following this change in my AVAudioEngine manager I am then manually activating and deactivating the audio session manually when the engine is either playing/recording or idle. In the documentation it states that you should not attempt to activate or deactivate your audio session directly, but allow the framework to handle it. Does that mean that I need to either call the request to transmit delegate function or set an active participant on the channel manager first, and then wait for the didBecomeActive delegate method to trigger before I actually attempt to play or record any audio? (I am using the fullDuplex mode currently.) I noticed that that delegate method will only trigger if the audio session wasn't active before doing one of the above (setting active participant, requesting transmit). Lastly, when using the PTTFramework it also mentions that we get support for PTT devices and I notice on the didBeginTransmittingFrom property we have a handsfreeButton case. Is there any documentation or resources for what is actually supported out of the box for this? I am currently working on handling a lot of the push to talk through bluetooth LE, and wanted to make sure there wasn't overlap with what the system provides. Thank you!
2
0
596
Feb ’25
In Speech framework is SFTranscriptionSegment timing supposed to be off and speechRecognitionMetadata nil until isFinal?
I'm working in Swift/SwiftUI, running XCode 16.3 on macOS 15.4 and I've seen this when running in the iOS simulator and in a macOS app run from XCode. I've also seen this behaviour with 3 different audio files. Nothing in the documentation says that the speechRecognitionMetadata property on an SFSpeechRecognitionResult will be nil until isFinal, but that's the behaviour I'm seeing. I've stripped my class down to the following: private var isAuthed = false // I call this in a .task {} in my SwiftUI View public func requestSpeechRecognizerPermission() { SFSpeechRecognizer.requestAuthorization { authStatus in Task { self.isAuthed = authStatus == .authorized } } } public func transcribe(from url: URL) { guard isAuthed else { return } let locale = Locale(identifier: "en-US") let recognizer = SFSpeechRecognizer(locale: locale) let recognitionRequest = SFSpeechURLRecognitionRequest(url: url) // the behaviour occurs whether I set this to true or not, I recently set // it to true to see if it made a difference recognizer?.supportsOnDeviceRecognition = true recognitionRequest.shouldReportPartialResults = true recognitionRequest.addsPunctuation = true recognizer?.recognitionTask(with: recognitionRequest) { (result, error) in guard result != nil else { return } if result!.isFinal { //speechRecognitionMetadata is not nil } else { //speechRecognitionMetadata is nil } } } } Further, and this isn't documented either, the SFTranscriptionSegment values don't have correct timestamp and duration values until isFinal. The values aren't all zero, but they don't align with the timing in the audio and they change to accurate values when isFinal is true. The transcription otherwise "works", in that I get transcription text before isFinal and if I wait for isFinal the segments are correct and speechRecognitionMetadata is filled with values. The context here is I'm trying to generate a transcription that I can then highlight the spoken sections of as audio plays and I'm thinking I must be just trying to use the Speech framework in a way it does not work. I got my concept working if I pre-process the audio (i.e. run it through until isFinal and save the results I need to json), but being able to do even a rougher version of it 'on the fly' - which requires segments to have the right timestamp/duration before isFinal - is perhaps impossible?
1
0
122
Jul ’25
FaceTime Screen-Share Audio and Video Experience
FaceTime’s screen-share audio balance is insanely absurd right now. Whenever I share media, the system audio that gets sent through FaceTime is a tiny whisper even at full volume (or even when connected to my speaker or headphones). The moment anyone on the call makes any noise at all, the shared audio ducks so hard it disappears, while the voice (or rustling or air conditioning noise) spikes to painful levels. It’s impossible to watch or listen to anything together. Also, the feature where FaceTime would shrink to a square during screen-sharing has been completely removed. That was a good feature and I'm really confused why it's gone. Now, the FaceTime window stays as a long rectangle that covers part of the content I'm trying to share (unless I do full screen tile, but then I can't pull up any other windows during the call) and can't be made smaller than about a third of the screen. You can't resize the window or adjust its dimensions, so it ends up blocking the actual media you're trying to watch. Here are some feature requests/fixes that would greatly improve the FaceTime screen-share experience: Option to adjust the shared media volume independently of call audio. Disable/toggle the extreme automatic audio docking while screen-sharing Reintroduce the minimized “floating square” mode or allow full manual resizing and repositioning of the FaceTime window during screen-share sessions. Overall, this setup makes FaceTime screen-sharing basically unusable. The audio balance is so inconsistent that it’s easier to switch to Zoom or Google Meet, which both handle shared sound correctly and let you move the call window out of the way. Until these issues are fixed, there’s no practical reason to use FaceTime for shared viewing at all.
1
0
199
Nov ’25