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

Audio Documentation

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AVAudioEngine installTap stops working after phone call interruption on iPhone 16e
Environment Device: iPhone 16e iOS Version: 18.4.1 - 18.7.1 Framework: AVFoundation (AVAudioEngine) Problem Summary On iPhone 16e (iOS 18.4.1-18.7.1), the installTap callback stops being invoked after resuming from a phone call interruption. This issue is specific to phone call interruptions and does not occur on iPhone 14, iPhone SE 3, or earlier devices. Expected Behavior After a phone call interruption ends and audioEngine.start() is called, the previously installed tap should continue receiving audio buffers. Actual Behavior After resuming from phone call interruption: Tap callback is no longer invoked No audio data is captured No errors are thrown Engine appears to be running normally Note: Normal pause/resume (without phone call interruption) works correctly. Steps to Reproduce Start audio recording on iPhone 16e Receive or make a phone call (triggers AVAudioSession interruption) End the phone call Resume recording with audioEngine.start() Result: Tap callback is not invoked Tested devices: iPhone 16e (iOS 18.4.1-18.7.1): Issue reproduces ✗ iPhone 14 (iOS 18.x): Works correctly ✓ iPhone SE 3 (iOS 18.x): Works correctly ✓ Code Initial Setup (Works) let inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 4096, format: nil) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, at: time) } audioEngine.prepare() try audioEngine.start() Interruption Handling NotificationCenter.default.addObserver( forName: AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification, object: AVAudioSession.sharedInstance(), queue: nil ) { notification in guard let userInfo = notification.userInfo, let typeValue = userInfo[AVAudioSessionInterruptionTypeKey] as? UInt, let type = AVAudioSession.InterruptionType(rawValue: typeValue) else { return } if type == .began { self.audioEngine.pause() } else if type == .ended { try? self.audioSession.setActive(true) try? self.audioEngine.start() // Tap callback doesn't work after this on iPhone 16e } } Workaround Full engine restart is required on iPhone 16e: func resumeAfterInterruption() { audioEngine.stop() inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 4096, format: nil) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, at: time) } audioEngine.prepare() try audioSession.setActive(true) try audioEngine.start() } This works but adds latency and complexity compared to simple resume. Questions Is this expected behavior on iPhone 16e? What is the recommended way to handle phone call interruptions? Why does this only affect iPhone 16e and not iPhone 14 or SE 3? Any guidance would be appreciated!
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113
Oct ’25
AVSpeechSynthesisVoices available on device
Hello there! Is there any list of voices that are always available on iOS/iPadOS devices? It seems that AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(identifier: "com.apple.voice.compact.en-US.Samantha") is always available on all devices. I thought that AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(identifier: "com.apple.ttsbundle.siri_Nicky_en-US_compact") and AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(identifier: "com.apple.ttsbundle.siri_Aaron_en-US_compact") were available by default on certain newer devices. Is this true? I also noticed that on the same iPad where I was using those 2 voices (Nicky and Aaron) - when I updated to the iPadOS 26 beta, those voices were no longer available. Any information you can share about which voices should be reliably available on which devices would be extremely helpful for our development. Thanks so much!
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137
Jun ’25
Can't set AVAudio sampleRate and installTap needs bufferSize 4800 at minimum
Two issues: No matter what I set in try audioSession.setPreferredSampleRate(x) the sample rate on both iOS and macOS is always 48000 when the output goes through the speaker, and 24000 when my Airpods connect to an iPhone/iPad. Now, I'm checking the current output loudness to animate a 3D character, using mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: nil) { [weak self] buffer, time in Task { @MainActor in // calculate rms and animate character accordingly but any buffer size under 4800 is just ignored and the buffers I get are 4800 sized. This is ok, when the sampleRate is currently 48000, as 10 samples per second lead to decent visual results. But when AirPods connect, the samplerate is 24000, which means only 5 samples per second, so the character animation looks lame. My AVAudioEngine setup is the following: audioEngine.connect(playerNode, to: pitchShiftEffect, format: format) audioEngine.connect(pitchShiftEffect, to: mixerNode, format: format) audioEngine.connect(mixerNode, to: audioEngine.outputNode, format: nil) Now, I'd be fine if the outputNode runs at whatever if it needs, as long as my tap would get at least 10 samples per second. PS: Specifying my favorite format in the let format = AVAudioFormat(standardFormatWithSampleRate: 48_000, channels: 2)! mixerNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: y, format: format) doesn't change anything either
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337
Aug ’25
Wi-Fi Access Point Not Reconnecting While AVAudioSession Is Active
We’ve encountered a reproducible issue where the iPhone fails to reconnect to a Wi-Fi access point under the following conditions: The device is connected to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. A Bluetooth audio accessory is connected (e.g. headset). AVAudioSession is active (such as during a voice call or when using the Voice Memos app). The user moves away from the access point, causing a disconnect. Upon returning within range, the access point is no longer recognized or reconnected while AVAudioSession remains active. However, if the Bluetooth device is disconnected or the AVAudioSession is deactivated, the Wi-Fi access point is immediately recognized again. We confirmed this behavior not only in my app but also using Apple's built-in Voice Memos app, suggesting this is not specific to our implementation. It appears that the Wi-Fi system deprioritizes reconnection while AVAudioSession is engaged. Could this be by design? Or is this a known issue or limitation with Wi-Fi and AVAudioSession interaction? Test Environment: Device: iPhone 13 mini iOS: 17.5.1 Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz band Accessories: Bluetooth headset We’d appreciate clarification on whether this is expected behavior or a bug. Thank you!
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123
Jun ’25
No mic capture on iOS 18.5
Hello! We stumbled upon a problem with our karaoke app where user on iPhone 16e/iOS 18.5 has problem with mic capture, other users cannot hear him. The mic capture is working fine on 17.5, 16.8. Maybe there is something else we need when configuring AVAudioSession for iOS 18.5? Currently it's set up like this: override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() UIApplication.shared.isIdleTimerDisabled = true mRoomId = appDelegate.getRoomId() let audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try! audioSession.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .voiceChat, options: [.defaultToSpeaker]) try! audioSession.setPreferredSampleRate(48000) try! audioSession.setActive(true, options: []) }
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237
Nov ’25
Live Translations on VOIP on iOS26
Hi team, With regards to Call (Live) Translations on VOIP: Is it possible to invoke live translations within the app? (without going into the Call System UI) Is it possible to navigate users from app to Call System UI via an API? (and also invoking the new live translations directly) Will Apple support more languages apart from the current ones? (Currently I see 4 supported languages)
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151
Aug ’25
What is the best approach to multi-channel, per-channel volume control.
I've got a setup using AVAudioEngine with several tone generator nodes, each with a chain of processing nodes, the chains then mixed into the main output. Generator ➡️ Effect ➡️... ➡️ .mainMixerNode ➡️ .outputNode). Generator ➡️ Effect ➡️... ⤴️ ... Generator ➡️ Effect ➡️... ⤴️ The user should be able to mute any chain individually. I've found several potential approaches to muting, but not terribly happy with any of them. Adjust the amplitudes directly in my tone generators. Issue: Consumes CPU even when completely muted. 4 generators adds ~15% cpu, even when all chains are muted. Detach/attach chains that are muted/unmuted. Issue: Causes loud clicking/popping sounds whenever muted/unmuted. Fade mixer output volume while detaching/attaching a chain (just cutting the volume immediately to 0 doesn't get rid of the clicking/popping). Issue: Causes all channels to fade during the transition, so not ideal. The rest of these ideas are variations on making volume control+detatch/attach work for individual chains, since approach #3 worked well. Add an AVAudioMixer to the end of each chain (just for volume control). Issue: Only the mixer on the final chain functions -- the others block all output. Not sure what's going on there. Use matrix mixer (for multi-input volume control). Plus detach/attach to reduce CPU if necessary. Not yet attempted, due to perceived complexity and reports of fragility in order of wiring in. A bunch of effort before I even know if it's going to work. Develop my own fader node to put on the end of each channel. Unlike the tone generator (simple AVSourceNode), developing an effect node seems complex and time consuming. Might not even fix CPU use. I'm not completely averse to the learning curve of either 5 or 6, but would rather get some guidance on best approach before diving in. They both seem likely to take more effort than I'd like for the simple behavior I'm trying to achieve.
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196
Jul ’25
App recedes to background,audioEngine.start()
private var audioEngine = AVAudioEngine() private var inputNode: AVAudioInputNode! func startAnalyzing() { inputNode = audioEngine.inputNode let recordingFormat = inputNode.outputFormat(forBus: 0) let hardwareSampleRate = recordingSession.sampleRate inputNode.removeTap(onBus: 0) if recordingFormat.sampleRate != hardwareSampleRate { print("。") let newFormat = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: recordingFormat.commonFormat, sampleRate: hardwareSampleRate, channels: recordingFormat.channelCount, interleaved: recordingFormat.isInterleaved) inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: newFormat) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, time: time) } } else { inputNode.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 1024, format: recordingFormat) { buffer, time in self.processAudioBuffer(buffer, time: time) } } do { audioEngine.prepare() try audioEngine.start() } catch { print(": \(error)") } } I back the app to the background and then call startAnalyzing(), which reports an error and the background recording permissions are configured。 error: [10429:570139] [aurioc] AURemoteIO.cpp:1668 AUIOClient_StartIO failed (561145187) [10429:570139] [avae] AVAEInternal.h:109 [AVAudioEngineGraph.mm:1545:Start: (err = PerformCommand(*ioNode, kAUStartIO, NULL, 0)): error 561145187 Audio engine couldn't start. Is background boot not allowed?
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508
Jan ’25
Core Audio Tap: per-device attenuation vs. number of stereo output pairs — how to get unattenuated “raw” app streams?
Hi all, I’ve implemented the new Core Audio Tap API (AudioHardwareCreateProcessTap with CATapDescription) and I’m seeing consistent level attenuation that scales with the number of stereo output pairs exposed by the target device. What I observe Device with 4 stereo pairs (8 outs) → tap shows −12.04 dB relative to source. True 2-ch devices (built-in speakers, AirPods) → ~0 dB attenuation. The attenuation appears regardless of whether I: Create a global (default-output) tap via initStereoGlobalTapButExcludeProcesses: Or create a per-process/per-device tap via initWithProcesses:andDeviceUID:withStream: Additionally, the routing choice inside the sending app matters: App output to “System/Default Output” → I often see no attenuation. App output directly to a multi-out interface (e.g., RME Fireface) → I see the pair-count-scaled attenuation. I can query Core Audio for the number of output channels/pairs and gain-compensate (+20·log10(N_pairs) dB) and that matches my measurements for many cases. However, this compensation is not universally correct because it seems to depend on where each process routes its audio (Default Output vs. direct device), even when those processes are included in the same tap aggregate. Question Is there a supported way to obtain the raw, unattenuated streams for all processes through the Tap API—i.e., to bypass this automatic headroom/attenuation behavior entirely? If this attenuation is expected by design: Is there a documented rule for when it applies (global vs. device taps, per-process taps, stream selection, etc.)? Is there a property/flag to disable it, or a reliable, official method to compute the exact compensation (beyond counting stereo pairs)? Any guidance on ensuring consistent levels when multiple processes route differently (Default Output vs. direct device) but are captured by the same tap? Environment API: AudioHardwareCreateProcessTap + CATapDescription Devices: built-in output (2-ch), RME Fireface (8+ outs / 4+ stereo pairs) Behavior reproducible with both global and per-process/per-device tap descriptions. Attenuation example: 4 stereo pairs → −12.04 dB observed. Happy to provide a minimal sample, measurements, and device logs. Thanks! — David
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73
3w
WebM audio playback
Is it possible to play WebM audio on iOS? Either with AVPlayer, AVAudioEngine, or some other API? Safari has supported this for a few releases now, and I'm wondering if I missed something about how to do this. By default these APIs don't seem to work (nor does ExtAudioFileOpen). Our usecase is making it possible for iOS users to play back audio recorded in our webapp (desktop versions of Chrome & Firefox only support webm as a destination format for MediaRecorder)
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435
Mar ’25
Playing periodic audio in background using AVFoundation - facing audio session startup failure
Hello everyone, I’m new to Swift development and have been working on an audio module that plays a specific sound at regular intervals - similar to a workout timer that signals switching exercises every few minutes. Following AVFoundation documentation, I’m configuring my audio session like this: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory( .playback, mode: .default, options: [.interruptSpokenAudioAndMixWithOthers, .duckOthers] ) self.engine.attach(self.player) self.engine.connect(self.player, to: self.engine.outputNode, format: self.audioFormat) try? session.setActive(true) When it’s time to play cues, I schedule playback on a DispatchQueue: // scheduleAudio uses DispatchQueue self.scheduleAudio(at: interval.start) { do { try audio.engine.start() audio.node.play() for sample in interval.samples { audio.node.scheduleBuffer(sample.buffer, at: AVAudioTime(hostTime: sample.hostTime)) } } catch { print("Audio activation failed: \(error)") } } This works perfectly in the foreground. But once the app goes into the background, the scheduled callback runs, yet the audio engine fails to start, resulting in an error with code 561015905. Interestingly, if the app is already playing audio before going to the background, the scheduled sounds continue to play as expected. I have added the required background audio mode to my Info plist file by including the key UIBackgroundModes with the value audio. Is there anything else I should configure? What is the best practice to play periodic audio when the app runs in the background? How do apps like turn-by-turn navigation handle continuous audio playback in the background? Any advice or pointers would be greatly appreciated!
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183
Jul ’25
Unstable Playlist.Entry.id causes crashes when removing duplicates
When multiple identical songs are added to a playlist, Playlist.Entry.id uses a suffix-based identifier (e.g. songID_0, songID_1, etc.). Removing one entry causes others to shift, changing their .id values. This leads to diffing errors and collection view crashes in SwiftUI or UIKit when entries are updated. Steps to Reproduce: Add the same song to a playlist multiple times. Observe .id.rawValue of entries (e.g. i.SONGID_0, i.SONGID_1). Remove one entry. Fetch playlist again — note the other IDs have shifted. FB18879062
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531
Jul ’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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105
Oct ’25
AVPlayerView with .inline controlsStyle macOS 26
My audio app shows a control bar at the bottom of the window. The controls show nicely, but there is a black "slab" appearing behind the inline controls, the same size as the playerView. Setting the player view background color does nothing: playerView.wantsLayer = true playerView.layer?.backgroundColor = NSColor.clear.cgColor How can I clear the background? If I use .floating controlsStyle, I don't get the background "slab".
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142
Oct ’25
How to record voice, auto-transcribe, translate (auto-detect input language), and play back translated audio on same device in iOS Swift?
Hi everyone 👋 I’m building an iOS app in Swift where I want to do the following: Record the user’s voice Transcribe the spoken sentence (speech-to-text) Auto-detect the spoken language Translate it to another language selected by the user (e.g., English → Spanish or Hindi → English) Speak back (text-to-speech) the translated text on the same device Is this possible to record via phone mic and play the transcribe voice into headphone's audio?
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184
Oct ’25
access transport in Logic Pro
hi, i need to read wether the transport is playing or stopped but my current method that works for vst does not work for au. is there a lpx resource available for developers anywhere? if (auto* playHead = processor->getPlayHead()) { juce::AudioPlayHead::CurrentPositionInfo posInfo; if (playHead->getCurrentPosition(posInfo)) { bool isCurrentlyPlaying = posInfo.isPlaying; if (isCurrentlyPlaying != wasTransportPlaying) { if (isCurrentlyPlaying) { wasTransportPlaying = isCurrentlyPlaying; startAllTimers(); } else { wasTransportPlaying = isCurrentlyPlaying; stopAllTimers(); } } } } thanks :)
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249
Mar ’25
Rear View Camera Installed – Now CarPlay Audio Stops After 15 Seconds via Bluetooth
I recently installed a rear-view camera in my car, and ever since, I've been experiencing a frustrating issue with my CarPlay. After about 15 seconds of playing audio via Bluetooth, the sound stops coming out of the speakers, even though the song continues to run in the background. For context, my stereo system is an aftermarket unit that I installed to enable CarPlay functionality. Everything worked perfectly before adding the rear-view camera. Unfortunately, my unit does not have a port for a wired connection, so I can't test the audio using a cable. Has anyone experienced a similar issue? Could the camera installation be interfering with the Bluetooth or audio system somehow? Any advice or troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated!
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306
Jan ’25
Memory leak AVAudioPlayer
Let's consider the following code. I've created an actor that loads a list of .mp3 files from a Bundle and then makes it available for audio reproduction. Unfortunately, I'm experiencing a memory leak. At the play method. player.play() From Instruments I get _malloc_type_malloc_outlined libsystem_malloc.dylib start_wqthread libsystem_pthread.dylib private actor AudioActor { enum Failure: Error { case soundsNotLoaded([AudioPlayerClient.Sound: Error]) } enum Player { case music(AVAudioPlayer) } var players: [Sound: Player] = [:] let bundles: [Bundle] init(bundles: UncheckedSendable<[Bundle]>) { self.bundles = bundles.wrappedValue } func load(sounds: [Sound]) throws { try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true, options: []) var errors: [Sound: Error] = [:] for sound in sounds { guard let url = bundle.url(forResource: sound.name, withExtension: "mp3") else { continue } do { self.players[sound] = try .music(AVAudioPlayer(contentsOf: url)) } catch { errors[sound] = error } } guard errors.isEmpty else { throw Failure.soundsNotLoaded(errors) } } func play(sound: Sound, loops: Int?) throws { guard let player = self.players[sound] else { return } switch player { case let .music(player): player.numberOfLoops = loops ?? -1 player.play() } } func stop(sound: Sound) throws { guard let player = self.players[sound] else { throw Failure.soundsNotLoaded([:]) } switch player { case let .music(player): player.stop() } } }
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97
Mar ’25