Since iOS/iPadOs/tvOS 18 then we have run into a new problem with streaming of FairPlay encrypted video. On the affected streams then the audio plays perfectly but the video freezes for periods of a few seconds, so it will freeze for 5s or so, then be OK for a few seconds then freeze again. It is entirely reproducible when all the following are true the video streams were produced by a particular encoder (or particular settings, not sure on that) the video must be encrypted device is running some variety of iOS 18 (or iPadOS or tvOS) the device is an affected device Known devices are AppleTV 4K 2nd Gen iPad Pro 11" 1st and 2nd gen Devices known not to show the problem are all other AppleTV models iPhone 13 Pro and 16 Pro If we stream the same content, but unencrypted, then it plays perfectly, or if you play the encrypted stream on, say, tvOS 17. When the freezing occurs then we can see in the console logs repeating blocks of lines like the following default 18:08:46.578582+0000 videocodecd AppleAVD: AppleAVDDecodeFrameResponse(): Frame# 5771 DecodeFrame failed with error 0x0000013c default 18:08:46.578756+0000 videocodecd AppleAVD: AppleAVDDecodeFrameInternal(): failed - error: 316 default 18:08:46.579018+0000 videocodecd AppleAVD: AppleAVDDecodeFrameInternal(): avdDec - Frame# 5771, DecodeFrame failed with error: 0x13c default 18:08:46.579169+0000 videocodecd AppleAVD: AppleAVDDisplayCallback(): Asking fig to drop frame # 5771 with err -12909 - internalStatus: 315 also more relevant looking lines: default 18:17:39.122019+0000 kernel AppleAVD: avdOutbox0ISR(): FRM DONE (cid: 2.0, fno: 10970, codecT: 1) FAILED!! default 18:17:39.122155+0000 videocodecd AppleAVD: AppleAVDDisplayCallback(): Asking fig to drop frame # 10970 with err -12909 - internalStatus: 315 default 18:17:39.122221+0000 kernel AppleAVD: ## client[ 2.0] @ frm 10970, errStatus: 0x10 default 18:17:39.122338+0000 kernel AppleAVD: decodeFailIdentify(): VP error bit 4 has EP3B0 error default 18:17:39.122401+0000 kernel AppleAVD: processHWResponse(): clientID 2.0 frameNumber 10970 error 315, offsetIndex 10, isHwErr 1 So it would seem to me that one of the following must be happening: When these particular HLS files are encrypted then the data is being corrupted in some way that played back on iOS 17 and earlier but now won't on 18+, or There's a regression in iOS 18 that means that this particular format of video data is corrupted on decryption If anyone has seen similar behaviour, or has any ideas how to identify which of the two scenarios it is, please say. Unfortunately we don't have control of the servers so can't make changes there unless we can identify they are definitely the cause of the problem. Thanks, Simon.

Is there a recommended way on macOS 26 Tahoe to take a CoreAudio AudioObjectID and use it to lookup the underlying USB LocationID? I previously used AudioObjectID to query the corresponding DeviceUID with kAudioDevicePropertyDeviceUID. Then I queried for the IOService matching kIOAudioEngineClassName with property kIOAudioEngineGlobalUniqueIDKey matching DeviceUID, and I loaded kUSBDevicePropertyLocationID from the result. This fails on macOS 26, because the IO Registry for the device has an entry for usbaudiod rather than AppleUSBAudioEngine, and usbaudiod does not include a kIOAudioEngineGlobalUniqueIDKey property (or any other property to map it to a CoreAudio DeviceUID). My use-case here is a piece of audio recording software that allows configuring a set of supported audio devices via USB HID prior to recording. I present the user with a list of CoreAudio devices to use, but without a way to lookup the underlying USB LocationID, I cannot guarantee that the configured device matches the selected device (e.g. if the user plugged in two identical microphones).

Hi, I’m working on a photo backup app. I track the PHAsset localIdentifier to determine which photos have been backed up and which haven’t. Recently, I’ve noticed that two users seem to have experienced the localIdentifier changes after transferring data to a new iPhone using Quick Start. Additionally, others on StackOverflow have mentioned that the localIdentifier sometimes changes after updating the iOS version. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40094728/phobject-localidentifier-reliability I’d like to confirm the reliability of the localIdentifier after an iOS version upgrade or device transfer. Can I continue using these locally stored localIdentifiers? Or is there another recommended approach, such as using PHCloudIdentifier?

I'm able to get text to speech to audio file using the following code for iOS 12 iPhone 8 to create a car file: audioFile = try AVAudioFile( forWriting: saveToURL, settings: pcmBuffer.format.settings, commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, interleaved: false) where pcmBuffer.format.settings is: [AVAudioFileTypeKey: kAudioFileMP3Type, AVSampleRateKey: 48000, AVEncoderBitRateKey: 128000, AVNumberOfChannelsKey: 2, AVFormatIDKey: kAudioFormatLinearPCM] However, this code does not work when I run the app in iOS 18 on iPhone 13 Pro Max. The audio file is created, but it doesn't sound right. It has a lot of static and it seems the speech is very low pitch. Can anyone give me a hint or an answer?

is forKey:fileSize considered accessing non-public API? has your app been rejected at review stage due to this? let resources = PHAssetResource.assetResources(for: asset) if let resource = resources.first { if let fileSize = resource.value(forKey: "fileSize") as? Int { return fileSize } }

Hi all, I'm working on a custom Metal-based video pipeline using AVCaptureVideoDataOutput, and I've run into an unexpected issue related to exposure. Setup: I'm capturing video frames using kCVPixelFormatType_420YpCbCr8BiPlanarFullRange. In my Metal shader, I: Convert YCbCr (full range Rec.709) to linear Rec.709 RGB. Apply Rec.709 → sRGB gamma encoding. Output to .bgra8Unorm_srgb via MTKView. Everything renders correctly in terms of colorspace math, but the image appears significantly brighter (~+3 stops EV) compared to AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer and the native iOS Camera app under the same camera exposure settings. What I’ve verified: The color transforms are correct: YCbCr709 to RGB, then linear to sRGB. I'm not applying any tone mapping or aggressive look LUTs yet. Camera exposure is locked using: device.setExposureModeCustom(duration: ..., iso: ...) The same EV (e.g., ISO 50, 1/125s, f/5.6) on my iPhone appears visually 3 stops brighter than on my digital cameras (Sony/Canon etc). To match the look of the preview layer or camera app, I have to simulate a ~–3 EV shift in my custom pipeline. Questions: Is AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer applying extra tone mapping, digital gain, or contrast shaping (like OOTF etc)? Does the camera ISP expose "hotter" (i.e., with more light) internally for the preview layer than what we get in video frame buffers? Is there a standard way to compensate for this ISP behavior in custom pipelines using AVCaptureVideoDataOutput? Can this be accounted for using metadata (e.g., exposure bias, gain, gamma curve)?

Hello, Environment macOS 15.6.1 / Xcode 26 beta 7 / iOS 26 Beta 9 In a simple AVFoundation video-playback sample, I’m seeing different behavior between iOS 18 and iOS 26 regarding AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification. I’ve attached a minimal sample below. Please replace videoURL with a valid short video URL. Repro steps Tap “Play” to start playback and let the video finish. The AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification registered with NotificationCenter should fire, and you should see Play finished. in the console. Without relaunching, tap “Play” again. This is where the issue arises. Observed behavior On iOS 18 and earlier: The video does not play again (it does not restart from the beginning), but AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification is posted and Play finished. appears in the console. The same happens every time you press “Play”. On iOS 26: Pressing “Play” does not post AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification. The code path that prints Play finished. is never called (the callback enclosing that line is not invoked again). Building the same program with Xcode 16.4 and running it on an iOS 26 beta device shows the same phenomenon, which suggests there has been a behavioral change for AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification on iOS 26. I couldn’t find any mention of this in the release notes or API Reference. Because the semantics around AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification appear to differ, we’re forced to adjust our logic. If there is a way to achieve the iOS 18–style behavior on iOS 26, I would appreciate guidance. Alternatively, if this change is intentional, could you share the reasoning? Is iOS 26 the correct behavior from Apple’s perspective and iOS 18 (and earlier) behavior considered incorrect? Any official clarification would be extremely helpful. import UIKit import AVFoundation final class ViewController: UIViewController { private let videoURL = URL(string: "https://......mp4")! private var player: AVPlayer? private var playerItem: AVPlayerItem? private var playerLayer: AVPlayerLayer? private var observeForComplete: NSObjectProtocol? // UI private let playerContainerView = UIView() private let playButton = UIButton(type: .system) private let stopButton = UIButton(type: .system) private let replayButton = UIButton(type: .system) deinit { if let observeForComplete { NotificationCenter.default.removeObserver(observeForComplete) } } override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() view.backgroundColor = .systemBackground setupUI() setupPlayer() } override func viewDidLayoutSubviews() { super.viewDidLayoutSubviews() playerLayer?.frame = playerContainerView.bounds } // MARK: - Setup private func setupUI() { playerContainerView.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false playerContainerView.backgroundColor = .black view.addSubview(playerContainerView) // Buttons playButton.setTitle("Play", for: .normal) stopButton.setTitle("Pause", for: .normal) replayButton.setTitle("RePlay", for: .normal) [playButton, stopButton, replayButton].forEach { $0.titleLabel?.font = .systemFont(ofSize: 16, weight: .semibold) $0.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false $0.contentEdgeInsets = UIEdgeInsets(top: 10, left: 16, bottom: 10, right: 16) } let stack = UIStackView(arrangedSubviews: [playButton, stopButton, replayButton]) stack.axis = .horizontal stack.spacing = 16 stack.alignment = .center stack.distribution = .equalCentering stack.translatesAutoresizingMaskIntoConstraints = false view.addSubview(stack) NSLayoutConstraint.activate([ playerContainerView.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.safeAreaLayoutGuide.topAnchor, constant: 20), playerContainerView.leadingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.leadingAnchor), playerContainerView.trailingAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.trailingAnchor), playerContainerView.heightAnchor.constraint(equalToConstant: 200), stack.topAnchor.constraint(equalTo: playerContainerView.bottomAnchor, constant: 20), stack.centerXAnchor.constraint(equalTo: view.centerXAnchor) ]) // Action playButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(didTapPlay), for: .touchUpInside) stopButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(didTapStop), for: .touchUpInside) replayButton.addTarget(self, action: #selector(didTapReplayFromStart), for: .touchUpInside) } private func setupPlayer() { // AVURLAsset -> AVPlayerItem → AVPlayer let asset = AVURLAsset(url: videoURL) let item = AVPlayerItem(asset: asset) self.playerItem = item let player = AVPlayer(playerItem: item) player.automaticallyWaitsToMinimizeStalling = true self.player = player let layer = AVPlayerLayer(player: player) layer.videoGravity = .resizeAspect playerContainerView.layer.addSublayer(layer) layer.frame = playerContainerView.bounds self.playerLayer = layer // Notification if let observeForComplete { NotificationCenter.default.removeObserver(observeForComplete) } if let playerItem { observeForComplete = NotificationCenter.default.addObserver( forName: AVPlayerItem.didPlayToEndTimeNotification, object: playerItem, queue: .main ) { [weak self] _ in guard self != nil else { return } Task { @MainActor in print("Play finished.") } } } } // MARK: - Actions @objc private func didTapPlay() { player?.play() } @objc private func didTapStop() { player?.pause() } // RePlay @objc private func didTapReplayFromStart() { player?.seek(to: .zero, toleranceBefore: .zero, toleranceAfter: .zero) { [weak self] _ in self?.player?.play() } } } I would greatly appreciate an official response from Apple engineering on whether this is an intentional change, a regression, or an API contract clarification, and what the recommended approach is going forward. Thank you.

Hi All, I am working on a DJ playout app (MACOS). The app has a few AVAudioPlayerNode's combined with the ApplicationMusicPlayer from Musickit. I can route the output of the AVaudioPlayer to a hardware device so that the audio files are directed to their own dedicated output on my Mac. The ApplicationMusicPlayer is following the default output and this is pretty annoying. Has anyone found a solution to chain the ApplicationMusicPlayer and get it set to a output device? Thanks Pancras

I'm developing the VisionOS app. I want to know how to play spatial audio in addition to RealityKit? If it's iOS or macOS, how to play spatial audio in addition to RealityKit?

I’m using the shared instance of AVAudioSession. After activating it with .setActive(true), I observe the outputVolume, and it correctly reports the device’s volume. However, after deactivating the session using .setActive(false), changing the volume, and then reactivating it again, the outputVolume returns the previous volume (before deactivation), not the current device volume. The correct volume is only reported after the user manually changes it again using physical buttons or Control Center, which triggers the observer. What I need is a way to retrieve the actual current device volume immediately after reactivating the audio session, even on the second and subsequent activations. Disabling and re-enabling the audio session is essential to how my application functions. I’ve tested this behavior with my colleagues, and the issue is consistently reproducible on iOS 18.0.1, iOS 18.1, iOS 18.3, iOS 18.5 and iOS 18.6.2. On devices running iOS 17.6.1 and iOS 16.0.3, outputVolume correctly reflects the current volume immediately after calling .setActive(true) multiple times.

Hi, just generated a HDR10 MVHEVC file, mediainfo is below: Color range : Limited Color primaries : BT.2020 Transfer characteristics : PQ Matrix coefficients : BT.2020 non-constant Codec configuration box : hvcC+lhvC then generate the segment files with below command: mediafilesegmenter --iso-fragmented -t 4 -f av_1 av_new_1.mov then upload the segment files and prog_index.m3u8 to web server. just find that can not play the HLS stream on Safari... the url is http://ip/vod/prog_index.m3u8 just checked that if i remove the tag Transfer characteristics : PQ when generating the MVHEVC file. above same mediafilesegmenter command and upload the files to web server. the new version of HLS stream is can play on Safari... Is there any way to play HLS PQ video on Safari. thanks.

I'm writing some camera functionality that uses AVCaptureVideoDataOutput. I've set it up so that it calls my AVCaptureVideoDataOutputSampleBufferDelegate on a background thread, by making my own dispatch_queue and configuring the AVCaptureVideoDataOutput. My question is then, if I configure my AVCaptureSession differently, or even stop it altogether, is this guaranteed to flush all pending jobs on my background thread? For example, does [AVCaptureSession stopRunning] imply a blocking call until all pending frame-callbacks are done? I have a more practical example below, showing how I am accessing something from the foreground thread from the background thread, but I wonder when/how it's safe to clean up that resource. I have setup similar to the following: // Foreground thread logic dispatch_queue_t queue = dispatch_queue_create("qt_avf_camera_queue", nullptr); AVCaptureSession *captureSession = [[AVCaptureSession alloc] init]; setupInputDevice(captureSession); // Connects the AVCaptureDevice... // Store some arbitrary data to be attached to the frame, stored on the foreground thread FrameMetaData frameMetaData = ...; MySampleBufferDelegate *sampleBufferDelegate = [MySampleBufferDelegate alloc]; // Capture frameMetaData by reference in lambda [sampleBufferDelegate setFrameMetaDataGetter: [&frameMetaData]() { return &frameMetaData; }]; AVCaptureVideoDataOutput *captureVideoDataOutput = [[AVCaptureVideoDataOutput alloc] init]; [captureVideoDataOutput setSampleBufferDelegate:sampleBufferDelegate queue:queue]; [captureSession addOutput:captureVideoDataOutput]; [captureSession startRunning]; [captureSession stopRunning]; // Is it now safe to destroy frameMetaData, or do we need manual barrier? And then in MySampleBufferDelegate: - (void)captureOutput:(AVCaptureOutput *)captureOutput didOutputSampleBuffer:(CMSampleBufferRef)sampleBuffer fromConnection:(AVCaptureConnection *)connection { // Invokes the callback set above FrameMetaData *frameMetaData = frameMetaDataGetter(); emitSampleBuffer(sampleBuffer, frameMetaData); }

I am would like to look at AVMetricEvent data during video playback, so I have added this code to a test video player app: let playerItem: AVPlayerItem = ... let allMetrics = playerItem.allMetrics() Task.init { print("metrics task started") do { for try await metricEvent in allMetrics { print("metric event: \(metricEvent.description)") } } catch { print("unexpected metric iterator error \(error)") } } Running this in Simulator on iPhone 16 Pro (18.0) does not result in any "metric event" diagnostic messages being printed when the video associated with this AVPlayerItem is playing. Only the "metric task started" diagnostic message is seen. What am I doing wrong that prevents metric data being received?

I am trying to debug the AAX version of my plugin (MIDI effect) on Pro Tools, but I am getting the following error (Mac console) when attempting to load it: dlsym cannot find symbol g_dwILResult in CFBundle etc.. I used Xcode 16.4 to build the plugin. Has anybody come across the same or a similar message? Best, Achillefs Axart Labs

I would appreciate help in coding or an explanation what to use in swift for an app which will be able to capture LiDAR scanning and RGB data from taken pictures, generate a 3D mesh, and create .OBJ, .MTL, and .JPEG file set for further manipulation of 3D model.

On macOS Sequoia, I'm having the hardest time getting this basic audio output to work correctly. I'm compiling in XCode using C99, and when I run this, I get audio for a split second, and then nothing, indefinitely. Any ideas what could be going wrong? Here's a minimum code example to demonstrate: #include <AudioToolbox/AudioToolbox.h> #include <stdint.h> #define RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT 2 #define RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER 128 // mono linear PCM audio data at 48kHz #define RENDER_SAMPLE_RATE 48000 #define RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT 1 #define RENDER_BUFFER_BYTE_COUNT (RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER * RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * sizeof(f32)) void RenderAudioSaw(float* outBuffer, uint32_t frameCount, uint32_t channelCount) { static bool isInverted = false; float scalar = isInverted ? -1.f : 1.f; for (uint32_t frame = 0; frame < frameCount; ++frame) { for (uint32_t channel = 0; channel < channelCount; ++channel) { // series of ramps, alternating up and down. outBuffer[frame * channelCount + channel] = 0.1f * scalar * ((float)frame / frameCount); } } isInverted = !isInverted; } AudioStreamBasicDescription coreAudioDesc = { 0 }; AudioQueueRef coreAudioQueue = NULL; AudioQueueBufferRef coreAudioBuffers[RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT] = { NULL }; void coreAudioCallback(void* unused, AudioQueueRef queue, AudioQueueBufferRef buffer) { // 0's here indicate no fancy packet magic AudioQueueEnqueueBuffer(queue, buffer, 0, 0); } int main(void) { const UInt32 BytesPerSample = sizeof(float); coreAudioDesc.mSampleRate = RENDER_SAMPLE_RATE; coreAudioDesc.mFormatID = kAudioFormatLinearPCM; coreAudioDesc.mFormatFlags = kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsFloat | kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsPacked; coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerPacket = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * BytesPerSample; coreAudioDesc.mFramesPerPacket = 1; coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerFrame = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT * BytesPerSample; coreAudioDesc.mChannelsPerFrame = RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT; coreAudioDesc.mBitsPerChannel = BytesPerSample * 8; coreAudioQueue = NULL; OSStatus result; // most of the 0 and NULL params here are for compressed sound formats etc. result = AudioQueueNewOutput(&coreAudioDesc, &coreAudioCallback, NULL, 0, 0, 0, &coreAudioQueue); if (result != noErr) { assert(false == "AudioQueueNewOutput failed!"); abort(); } for (int i = 0; i < RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT; ++i) { uint32_t bufferSize = coreAudioDesc.mBytesPerFrame * RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER; result = AudioQueueAllocateBuffer(coreAudioQueue, bufferSize, &(coreAudioBuffers[i])); if (result != noErr) { assert(false == "AudioQueueAllocateBuffer failed!"); abort(); } } for (int i = 0; i < RENDER_BUFFER_COUNT; ++i) { RenderAudioSaw(coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioData, RENDER_FRAMES_PER_BUFFER, RENDER_CHANNEL_COUNT); coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioDataByteSize = coreAudioBuffers[i]->mAudioDataBytesCapacity; AudioQueueEnqueueBuffer(coreAudioQueue, coreAudioBuffers[i], 0, 0); } AudioQueueStart(coreAudioQueue, NULL); sleep(10); // some time to hear the audio AudioQueueStop(coreAudioQueue, true); AudioQueueDispose(coreAudioQueue, true); return 0; }

Hi everyone, I noticed that Apple recently added a few new beta sample codes related to video encoding: Encoding video for low-latency conferencing Encoding video for live streaming While experimenting with H.264 encoding, I came across some questions regarding certain configurations: When I enable kVTVideoEncoderSpecification_EnableLowLatencyRateControl, is it still possible to use kVTCompressionPropertyKey_VariableBitRate? In my tests, I get an error. It also seems that kVTVideoEncoderSpecification_EnableLowLatencyRateControl cannot be used together with kVTCompressionPropertyKey_ConstantBitRate when encoding H264. Is that expected? When using kVTCompressionPropertyKey_ConstantBitRate with kVTCompressionPropertyKey_MaxKeyFrameInterval set to 2, the encoder outputs only keyframes, and the frame size keeps increasing, which doesn’t seem like the intended behavior. Regarding the following code from the sample: let byteLimit = (Double(bitrate) / 8) * 1.5 as CFNumber let secLimit = Double(1.0) as CFNumber let limitsArray = [ byteLimit, secLimit ] as CFArray // Each 1 second limit byte as bitrate err = VTSessionSetProperty(session, key: kVTCompressionPropertyKey_DataRateLimits, value: limitsArray) This DataRateLimits setting doesn’t seem to have any effect in my tests. Whether I set it or not, the values remain unchanged. Since the documentation on developer.apple.com/documentation doesn’t clearly explain these cases, I’d like to ask if anyone has insights or recommendations about the proper usage of these settings. Thanks in advance!

If new photo is added to library and app is not running in foreground or was not opened after the new photo was added but the app is having full access to gallery, can it access, read the new photo - If the app is not specifically a cloud syncing app, can it have this attached function, suppose it is a game app or beauty camera app?

FairPlay-Protected HLS Files Not Transferred via Quick Start I have an iOS app that downloads HLS files, which are protected by FairPlay. These files are stored locally, and their locations are managed using Core Data. When playing these tracks, I use AVURLAsset to access the stored file paths. Recently, a client upgraded to a new iPhone and used Quick Start to transfer data from his old device. While all other app data was successfully transferred, including Core Data records and UserDefaults, the actual HLS files were missing. As a result, the app retained metadata about the downloaded content, but the files themselves were gone, causing playback failures. Does Quick Start exclude certain types of locally stored files, especially DRM-protected HLS downloads, or is the issue related to how FairPlay-protected content is handled during the transfer of locally stored files?

Hi everyone, We are working on a prototype app for Apple Vision Pro that is similar in functionality to Omegle or Chatroulette, but exclusively for Vision Pro owners. The core idea is: – a matching system where one user connects to another through a virtual persona; – real-time video and audio transmission; – time limits for sessions with the ability to extend them; – users can skip a match and move on to the next one. We have explored WebRTC and Twilio, but unfortunately, they don’t fit our use case. Question: What alternative services or SDKs are available for implementing real-time video/audio communication on Vision Pro that would work with this scenario? Has anyone encountered a similar challenge and can recommend which technologies or tools to use? Thanks in advance!