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

Audio Documentation

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Populating Now Playing with Objective-C
Hello. I am attempting to display the music inside of my app in Now Playing. I've tried a few different methods and keep running into unknown issues. I'm new to Objective-C and Apple development so I'm at a loss of how to continue. Currently, I have an external call to viewDidLoad upon initialization. Then, when I'm ready to play the music, I call playMusic. I have it hardcoded to play an mp3 called "1". I believe I have all the signing set up as the music plays after I exit the app. However, there is nothing in Now Playing. There are no errors or issues that I can see while the app is running. This is the only file I have in Xcode relating to this feature. Please let me know where I'm going wrong or if there is another object I need to use! #import <Foundation/Foundation.h> #import <UIKit/UIKit.h> #import <MediaPlayer/MediaPlayer.h> #import <AVFoundation/AVFoundation.h> @interface ViewController : UIViewController <AVAudioPlayerDelegate> @property (nonatomic, strong) AVPlayer *player; @property (nonatomic, strong) MPRemoteCommandCenter *commandCenter; @property (nonatomic, strong) MPMusicPlayerController *controller; @property (nonatomic, strong) MPNowPlayingSession *nowPlayingSession; @end @implementation ViewController - (void)viewDidLoad { [super viewDidLoad]; NSLog(@"viewDidLoad started."); [self setupAudioSession]; [self initializePlayer]; [self createNowPlayingSession]; [self configureNowPlayingInfo]; NSLog(@"viewDidLoad completed."); } - (void)setupAudioSession { AVAudioSession *audioSession = [AVAudioSession sharedInstance]; NSError *setCategoryError = nil; if (![audioSession setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayback error:&setCategoryError]) { NSLog(@"Error setting category: %@", [setCategoryError localizedDescription]); } else { NSLog(@"Audio session category set."); } NSError *activationError = nil; if (![audioSession setActive:YES error:&activationError]) { NSLog(@"Error activating audio session: %@", [activationError localizedDescription]); } else { NSLog(@"Audio session activated."); } } - (void)initializePlayer { NSString *soundFilePath = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@/base/game/%@",[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath], @"bgm/1.mp3"]; if (!soundFilePath) { NSLog(@"Audio file not found."); return; } NSURL *soundFileURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:soundFilePath]; self.player = [AVPlayer playerWithURL:soundFileURL]; NSLog(@"Player initialized with URL: %@", soundFileURL); } - (void)createNowPlayingSession { self.nowPlayingSession = [[MPNowPlayingSession alloc] initWithPlayers:@[self.player]]; NSLog(@"Now Playing Session created with players: %@", self.nowPlayingSession.players); } - (void)configureNowPlayingInfo { MPNowPlayingInfoCenter *infoCenter = [MPNowPlayingInfoCenter defaultCenter]; CMTime duration = self.player.currentItem.duration; Float64 durationSeconds = CMTimeGetSeconds(duration); CMTime currentTime = self.player.currentTime; Float64 currentTimeSeconds = CMTimeGetSeconds(currentTime); NSDictionary *nowPlayingInfo = @{ MPMediaItemPropertyTitle: @"Example Title", MPMediaItemPropertyArtist: @"Example Artist", MPMediaItemPropertyPlaybackDuration: @(durationSeconds), MPNowPlayingInfoPropertyElapsedPlaybackTime: @(currentTimeSeconds), MPNowPlayingInfoPropertyPlaybackRate: @(self.player.rate) }; infoCenter.nowPlayingInfo = nowPlayingInfo; NSLog(@"Now Playing info configured: %@", nowPlayingInfo); } - (void)playMusic { [self.player play]; [self createNowPlayingSession]; [self configureNowPlayingInfo]; } - (void)pauseMusic { [self.player pause]; [self configureNowPlayingInfo]; } @end
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552
Feb ’25
Why is the volume very low when using the real-time recording and playback feature with AEC?
I’ve been researching how to achieve a recording playback effect in iOS similar to the hands-free calling effect in the system’s phone app. How can this be implemented? I tried using the voice chat recording method, but found that the volume of the speaker output is too low. How should this issue be addressed? I couldn’t find a suitable API. Could you provide me with some documentation or sample code? Thank you.
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412
Feb ’25
occasional glitches and empty buffers when using AudioFileStream + AVAudioConverter
I'm streaming mp3 audio data using URLSession/AudioFileStream/AVAudioConverter and getting occasional silent buffers and glitches (little bleeps and whoops as opposed to clicks). The issues are present in an offline test, so this isn't an issue of underruns. Doing some buffering on the input coming from the URLSession (URLSessionDataTask) reduces the glitches/silent buffers to rather infrequent, but they do still happen occasionally. var bufferedData = Data() func parseBytes(data: Data) { bufferedData.append(data) // XXX: this buffering reduces glitching // to rather infrequent. But why? if bufferedData.count > 32768 { bufferedData.withUnsafeBytes { (bytes: UnsafeRawBufferPointer) in guard let baseAddress = bytes.baseAddress else { return } let result = AudioFileStreamParseBytes(audioStream!, UInt32(bufferedData.count), baseAddress, []) if result != noErr { print("❌ error parsing stream: \(result)") } } bufferedData = Data() } } No errors are returned by AudioFileStream or AVAudioConverter. func handlePackets(data: Data, packetDescriptions: [AudioStreamPacketDescription]) { guard let audioConverter else { return } var maxPacketSize: UInt32 = 0 for packetDescription in packetDescriptions { maxPacketSize = max(maxPacketSize, packetDescription.mDataByteSize) if packetDescription.mDataByteSize == 0 { print("EMPTY PACKET") } if Int(packetDescription.mStartOffset) + Int(packetDescription.mDataByteSize) > data.count { print("❌ Invalid packet: offset \(packetDescription.mStartOffset) + size \(packetDescription.mDataByteSize) > data.count \(data.count)") } } let bufferIn = AVAudioCompressedBuffer(format: inFormat!, packetCapacity: AVAudioPacketCount(packetDescriptions.count), maximumPacketSize: Int(maxPacketSize)) bufferIn.byteLength = UInt32(data.count) for i in 0 ..< Int(packetDescriptions.count) { bufferIn.packetDescriptions![i] = packetDescriptions[i] } bufferIn.packetCount = AVAudioPacketCount(packetDescriptions.count) _ = data.withUnsafeBytes { ptr in memcpy(bufferIn.data, ptr.baseAddress, data.count) } if verbose { print("handlePackets: \(data.count) bytes") } // Setup input provider closure var inputProvided = false let inputBlock: AVAudioConverterInputBlock = { packetCount, statusPtr in if !inputProvided { inputProvided = true statusPtr.pointee = .haveData return bufferIn } else { statusPtr.pointee = .noDataNow return nil } } // Loop until converter runs dry or is done while true { let bufferOut = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: outFormat, frameCapacity: 4096)! bufferOut.frameLength = 0 var error: NSError? let status = audioConverter.convert(to: bufferOut, error: &error, withInputFrom: inputBlock) switch status { case .haveData: if verbose { print("✅ convert returned haveData: \(bufferOut.frameLength) frames") } if bufferOut.frameLength > 0 { if bufferOut.isSilent { print("(haveData) SILENT BUFFER at frame \(totalFrames), pending: \(pendingFrames), inputPackets=\(bufferIn.packetCount), outputFrames=\(bufferOut.frameLength)") } outBuffers.append(bufferOut) totalFrames += Int(bufferOut.frameLength) } case .inputRanDry: if verbose { print("🔁 convert returned inputRanDry: \(bufferOut.frameLength) frames") } if bufferOut.frameLength > 0 { if bufferOut.isSilent { print("(inputRanDry) SILENT BUFFER at frame \(totalFrames), pending: \(pendingFrames), inputPackets=\(bufferIn.packetCount), outputFrames=\(bufferOut.frameLength)") } outBuffers.append(bufferOut) totalFrames += Int(bufferOut.frameLength) } return // wait for next handlePackets case .endOfStream: if verbose { print("✅ convert returned endOfStream") } return case .error: if verbose { print("❌ convert returned error") } if let error = error { print("error converting: \(error.localizedDescription)") } return @unknown default: fatalError() } } }
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549
Jul ’25
coreaudiod display sleep
hi all, as soon an audio is played in a whatever app, coreaudiod inserts a sleep prevent assertion for both, the system AND the display. can i somehow stop the insertion of the display sleep assertion? pid 223(coreaudiod): [0x00004e9e00058dc2] 00:03:18 PreventUserIdleDisplaySleep named: "com.apple.audio.AppleGFXHDAEngineOutputDP:10001:0:{B31A-08C6-00000000}.context.preventuseridledisplaysleep" Created for PID: 4145. where PID 4145 is spotify. but it doesn't matter which app is playing the audio. any help would be appreciated thanks
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33
1w
issue in recording using AVAudio
Hi, In my project I am using AVFoundation for recording the audio. We are using AVAudioMixerNode class below method to record the audio packet. **func installTap( onBus bus: AVAudioNodeBus, bufferSize: AVAudioFrameCount, format: AVAudioFormat?, block tapBlock: @escaping AVAudioNodeTapBlock ) ** It works perfectly fine. But in production env some small percentage of the user we are facing issue like after recording few packets it stops automatically without stopping the audio engine. Can anyone help here that why this happens? I have also observed for mediaServicesWereResetNotification and added log on receiving this notification but when this issue happens I don't see any occurence of this log. Also is there any callback when the engine stops?
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106
Apr ’25
Carplay rate button always displays "0x".
Hi. I am working on an audio app for iOS. I have added the CPNowPlayingPlaybackRateButton to my CPNowPlayingTemplate. When the button is clicked, my handler changes the rate in the AVPlayer and updates the MPNowPlayingInfoCenter to the new rate, for example, 2.0. Throughout, the Carplay button always displays "0x". I am wondering how to get this UI to accurately reflect the playback rate the user has selected, as always displaying 0x is a poor user experience. You may suggest MPChangePlaybackRateCommand is relevant here, but I have not been able to get that to work either, and judging by posts online, not many other people have either. I have made a post about that here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/773099 Is this a known Apple bug? Is there a way to get the UI to accurately reflect the playback rate of my audio? Kind regards.
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315
Jan ’25
Changing playback rate of AVQueuePlayer not working for some Airplay devices.
Hi. I am working on an audio app for iOS. I have implemented UI and handling which allows the user to change playback rate of audio. When the user selects a different rate, I update the rate property on my AVQueuePlayer. This is working well on device. When I use Airplay, it works for some devices and not for others. Some devices won't change playback rate and will always play at 1x speed. Is this possibly a limitation of those 3rd-party devices? Or is there something I'm missing/should check? Would love to get playback rate changes working across all Airplay devices with our app. Kind regards.
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420
Jan ’25
Music in iOS 26.2
I’m running the iOS 26.2 Public Beta update and my album artwork is missing from the music app (I’m not using Apple Music). I use google to get my album artwork. Do I need to wait for a new update?
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134
3w
Potential Documentation Error in kAudioAggregateDevicePropertyTapList Sample Code
Hi, I believe I've found a potential error in the sample code on the documentation page for creating and using a process tap with an aggregate device. The issue is in the section explaining how to add a tap to the aggregate device. I have already filed a Feedback Assistant ticket on this (ID: FB17411663) but haven't heard back for months. Capturing system audio with Core Audio taps The sample code for modifying the kAudioAggregateDevicePropertyTapList incorrectly uses the tapID as the target AudioObjectID when calling AudioObjectSetPropertyData. // (Code to get the list and potentially modify listAsArray) if var listAsArray = list as? [CFString] { // ... (modification logic) ... // Set the list back on the aggregate device. <--- The comment is correct list = listAsArray as CFArray _ = withUnsafeMutablePointer(to: &list) { list in // INCORRECT: This call uses tapID as the target object. AudioObjectSetPropertyData(tapID, &propertyAddress, 0, nil, propertySize, list) } } The kAudioAggregateDevicePropertyTapList is a property that belongs to the aggregate device, not the individual tap. Therefore, to set this property, the AudioObjectSetPropertyData function must target the AudioObjectID of the aggregate device itself. Using tapID as the first argument is logically incorrect for this operation and will not update the aggregate device as intended. Furthermore, the preceding AudioObjectGetPropertyData call to fetch the list also appears to use the incorrect tapID as its target in the sample. The AudioObjectID for both getting and setting this property should be the ID of the aggregate device. _ = AudioObjectGetPropertyData(aggregateDeviceID, &propertyAddress, 0, nil, &propertySize, &list) _ = AudioObjectSetPropertyData(aggregateDeviceID, &propertyAddress, 0, nil, propertySize, newList) Thank you!
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305
Sep ’25
Only Apple based music devices show view
The following is my playground code. Any of the apple audio units show the plugin view, however anything else (i.e. kontakt, spitfire, etc.) does not. It does not error, just where the visual is expected is blank. import AppKit import PlaygroundSupport import AudioToolbox import AVFoundation import CoreAudioKit let manager = AVAudioUnitComponentManager.shared() let description = AudioComponentDescription(componentType: kAudioUnitType_MusicDevice, componentSubType: 0, componentManufacturer: 0, componentFlags: 0, componentFlagsMask: 0) var deviceComponents = manager.components(matching: description) var names = deviceComponents.map{$0.name} let pluginName: String = "AUSampler" // This works //let pluginName: String = "Kontakt" // This does not var plugin = deviceComponents.filter{$0.name.contains(pluginName)}.first! print("Plugin name: \(plugin.name)") var customViewController:NSViewController? AVAudioUnit.instantiate(with: plugin.audioComponentDescription, options: []){avAudioUnit, error in var ilip = avAudioUnit!.auAudioUnit.isLoadedInProcess print("Loaded in process: \(ilip)") guard error == nil else { print("Error: \(error!.localizedDescription)") return } print("AudioUnit successfully created.") let audioUnit = avAudioUnit!.auAudioUnit audioUnit.requestViewController{ vc in if let viewCtrl = vc { customViewController = vc var b = vc?.view.bounds PlaygroundPage.current.liveView = vc print("Successfully added view controller.") }else{ print("Failed to load controller.") } } }
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343
Dec ’24
SystemAudio Capture API Fails with OSStatus error 1852797029 (kAudioCodecIllegalOperationError)
Issue Description I'm implementing a system audio capture feature using AudioHardwareCreateProcessTap and AudioHardwareCreateAggregateDevice. The app successfully creates the tap and aggregate device, but when starting the IO procedure with AudioDeviceStart, it sometimes fails with OSStatus error 1852797029. (The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error 1852797029.)) The error occurs inconsistently, which makes it particularly difficult to debug and reproduce. Questions Has anyone encountered this intermittent "nope" error code (0x6e6f7065) when working with system audio capture? Are there specific conditions or system states that might trigger this error sporadically? Are there any known workarounds for handling this intermittent failure case? Any insights or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this specific "nope" error code (0x6e6f7065) when working with system audio capture.
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118
May ’25
SpeechTranscriber supported Devices
I have the new iOS 26 SpeechTranscriber working in my application. The issue I am facing is how to determine if the device I am running on supports SpeechTranscriber. I was able to create code that tests if the device supports transcription but it takes a bit of time to run and thus the results are not available when the app launches. What I am looking for is a list of what iOS 26 devices it doesn't run on. I think its safe to assume any new devices will support it so if we can just have a list of what devices that can run iOS 26 and not able to do transcription it would be much faster for the app. I have determined it doesn't work on a SE 2nd Gen, it works on iPhone 12, SE 3rd Gen, iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro. As the SpeechTranscriber doesn't work in the simulator I can't determine that way. I have checked the docs and it doesn't list the devices it doesn't work on.
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319
2w
Video Audio + Speech To Text
Hello, I am wondering if it is possible to have audio from my AirPods be sent to my speech to text service and at the same time have the built in mic audio input be sent to recording a video? I ask because I want my users to be able to say "CAPTURE" and I start recording a video (with audio from the built in mic) and then when the user says "STOP" I stop the recording.
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94
Oct ’25
Trouble with getting extended Album info from user library
Hello! I have a problem with getting album extended info from users library. Note that app authorised to use Apple Music according documentation. I get albums from users library with this code: func getLibraryAlbums() async throws -> MusicItemCollection<Album> { let request = MusicLibraryRequest<Album>() let response = try await request.response() return response.items } This is an example of Albums request respones: { "data" : [ { "meta" : { "musicKit_identifierSet" : { "isLibrary" : true, "id" : "1945382328890400383", "dataSources" : [ "localLibrary", "legacyModel" ], "type" : "Album", "deviceLocalID" : { "databaseID" : "37336CB19CF51727", "value" : "1945382328890400383" }, "catalogID" : { "kind" : "adamID", "value" : "1173535954" } } }, "id" : "1945382328890400383", "type" : "library-albums", "attributes" : { "artwork" : { "url" : "musicKit:\/\/artwork\/transient\/{w}x{h}?id=4A2F444C%2D336D%2D49EA%2D90C8%2D13C547A5B95B", "width" : 0, "height" : 0 }, "genreNames" : [ "Pop" ], "trackCount" : 1, "artistName" : "Сара Окс", "isAppleDigitalMaster" : false, "audioVariants" : [ "lossless" ], "playParams" : { "catalogId" : "1173535954", "id" : "1945382328890400383", "musicKit_persistentID" : "1945382328890400383", "kind" : "album", "musicKit_databaseID" : "37336CB19CF51727", "isLibrary" : true }, "name" : "Нимфомания - Single", "isCompilation" : false } }, { "meta" : { "musicKit_identifierSet" : { "isLibrary" : true, "id" : "-8570883332059662437", "dataSources" : [ "localLibrary", "legacyModel" ], "type" : "Album", "deviceLocalID" : { "value" : "-8570883332059662437", "databaseID" : "37336CB19CF51727" }, "catalogID" : { "kind" : "adamID", "value" : "1618488499" } } }, "id" : "-8570883332059662437", "type" : "library-albums", "attributes" : { "isCompilation" : false, "genreNames" : [ "Pop" ], "trackCount" : 1, "artistName" : "TIMOFEEW & KURYANOVA", "isAppleDigitalMaster" : false, "audioVariants" : [ "lossless" ], "playParams" : { "catalogId" : "1618488499", "musicKit_persistentID" : "-8570883332059662437", "kind" : "album", "id" : "-8570883332059662437", "musicKit_databaseID" : "37336CB19CF51727", "isLibrary" : true }, "artwork" : { "url" : "musicKit:\/\/artwork\/transient\/{w}x{h}?id=BEA6DBD3%2D8E14%2D4A10%2D97BE%2D8908C7C5FC2C", "width" : 0, "height" : 0 }, "name" : "Не звони - Single" } }, ... ] } In AlbumView using task: view modifier I request extended information about the album with this code: func loadExtendedInfo(_ album: Album) async throws -> Album { let response = try await album.with([.tracks, .audioVariants, .recordLabels], preferredSource: .library) return response } but in the response some of the fields are always nil, for example recordLabels, releaseDate, url, editorialNotes, copyright. Please tell me what I'm doing wrong?
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447
Dec ’24
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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312
Feb ’25
MusicKit - Not showing as a capability in Xcode
A bit of a novice to app development here but I have a paid developer account, I have registered the identifier for MusicKit on the developer website (using the bundle identifier I've selected in Xcode) but the option to add MusicKit as a capability is not available in Xcode? I've manually updated the certificates, closed the app and reopened it, started a new project and tried with a different demo project? Apologies if I am missing something obvious but could someone help me get this capability added?
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113
Aug ’25
ShazamKit Background Operation Broken on iOS 18 - SHManagedSession Stops Working After ~20 Seconds
Your draft looks great! Here's a refined version with the iOS 17 comparison emphasized and slightly better flow: Hi Apple Engineers and fellow developers, I'm experiencing a critical regression with ShazamKit's background operation on iOS 18. ShazamKit's SHManagedSession stops identifying songs in the background after approximately 20 seconds on iOS 18, while the exact same code works perfectly on iOS 17. The behavior is consistent: the app works perfectly in the foreground, but when backgrounded or device is locked, it initially works for about 20 seconds then stops identifying new songs. The microphone indicator remains active suggesting audio access is maintained, but ShazamKit doesn't send identified songs in the background until you open the app again. Detection immediately resumes when bringing the app to foreground. My technical setup uses SHManagedSession for continuous matching with background modes properly configured in Info.plist including audio mode, and Background App Refresh enabled. I've tested this on physical devices running iOS 18.0 through 18.5 with the same results across all versions. The exact same code running on iOS 17 devices works flawlessly in the background. To reproduce: initialize SHManagedSession and start matching, begin song identification in foreground, background the app or lock device, play different songs which are initially detected for about 20 seconds, then after the timeout period new songs are no longer identified until you bring the app to foreground. This regression has impacted my production app as users who rely on continuous background music identification are experiencing a broken feature. I submitted this as Feedback ID FB15255903 last September with no solution so far. I've created a minimal demo project that reproduces this issue: https://github.com/tfmart/ShazamKitBackground Has anyone else experienced this ShazamKit background regression on iOS 18? Are there any known workarounds or alternative approaches? Given the time this issue has persisted, could we please get acknowledgment of this regression, expected timeline for a fix, or any recommended workarounds? Testing environment is Xcode 16.0+ on iOS 18.0-18.5 across multiple physical device models. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
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133
Jun ’25
AVSpeechSynthesizer & Bluetooth Issues
Hello, I have a CarPlay Navigation app and utilize the AVSpeechSynthesizer to speak directions to a user. Everything works great on my CarPlay simulator as well as when plugged into my GMC truck. However, I found out yesterday that one of my users with a Ford truck the audio would cut in an out. After much troubleshooting, I was able to replicate this on my own truck when using Bluetooth to connect to CarPlay. My user was also utilizing Bluetooth. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix to the problem? import SwiftUI import AVFoundation class TextToSpeechService: NSObject, ObservableObject, AVSpeechSynthesizerDelegate { private var speechSynthesizer = AVSpeechSynthesizer() static let shared = TextToSpeechService() override init() { super.init() speechSynthesizer.delegate = self } func configureAudioSession() { speechSynthesizer.delegate = self do { try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback, mode: .voicePrompt, options: [.mixWithOthers, .allowBluetooth]) } catch { print("Failed to set audio session category: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } func speak(_ text: String) { Task(priority: .high) { let speechUtterance = AVSpeechUtterance(string: text) speechUtterance.voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: AVSpeechSynthesisVoice.currentLanguageCode()) try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation) speechSynthesizer.speak(speechUtterance) } } func speechSynthesizer(_ synthesizer: AVSpeechSynthesizer, didFinish utterance: AVSpeechUtterance) { Task { stopSpeech() try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(false) } } func stopSpeech() { speechSynthesizer.stopSpeaking(at: .immediate) } }
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420
Feb ’25