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

Audio Documentation

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Crackling/Popping sound when using AVAudioUnitTimePitch
I have a simple AVAudioEngine graph as follows: AVAudioPlayerNode -> AVAudioUnitEQ -> AVAudioUnitTimePitch -> AVAudioUnitReverb -> Main mixer node of AVAudioEngine. I noticed that whenever I have AVAudioUnitTimePitch or AVAudioUnitVarispeed in the graph, I noticed a very distinct crackling/popping sound in my Airpods Pro 2 when starting up the engine and playing the AVAudioPlayerNode and unable to find the reason why this is happening. When I remove the node, the crackling completely goes away. How do I fix this problem since i need the user to be able to control the pitch and rate of the audio during playback. import AVKit @Observable @MainActor class AudioEngineManager { nonisolated private let engine = AVAudioEngine() private let playerNode = AVAudioPlayerNode() private let reverb = AVAudioUnitReverb() private let pitch = AVAudioUnitTimePitch() private let eq = AVAudioUnitEQ(numberOfBands: 10) private var audioFile: AVAudioFile? private var fadePlayPauseTask: Task<Void, Error>? private var playPauseCurrentFadeTime: Double = 0 init() { setupAudioEngine() } private func setupAudioEngine() { guard let url = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "Song name goes here", withExtension: "mp3") else { print("Audio file not found") return } do { audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: url) } catch { print("Failed to load audio file: \(error)") return } reverb.loadFactoryPreset(.mediumHall) reverb.wetDryMix = 50 pitch.pitch = 0 // Increase pitch by 500 cents (5 semitones) engine.attach(playerNode) engine.attach(pitch) engine.attach(reverb) engine.attach(eq) // Connect: player -> pitch -> reverb -> output engine.connect(playerNode, to: eq, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(eq, to: pitch, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(pitch, to: reverb, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) engine.connect(reverb, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: audioFile?.processingFormat) } func prepare() { guard let audioFile else { return } playerNode.scheduleFile(audioFile, at: nil) } func play() { DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.prepare() try? engine.start() DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } playerNode.play() fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: true) // Ramp up volume until 1 is reached if volume >= 1 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 1 } } } } func pause() { fadePlayPauseTask?.cancel() playPauseCurrentFadeTime = 0 fadePlayPauseTask = Task { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } while true { let volume = updateVolume(for: playPauseCurrentFadeTime / 0.1, rising: false) // Ramp down volume until 0 is reached if volume <= 0 { break } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = volume try await Task.sleep(for: .milliseconds(10)) playPauseCurrentFadeTime += 0.01 } engine.mainMixerNode.outputVolume = 0 playerNode.pause() // Shut down engine once ramp down completes DispatchQueue.global().async { [weak self] in guard let self else { return } engine.pause() } } } private func updateVolume(for x: Double, rising: Bool) -> Float { if rising { // Fade in return Float(pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x))) } else { // Fade out return Float(1 - (pow(x, 2) * (3.0 - 2.0 * (x)))) } } func setPitch(_ value: Float) { pitch.pitch = value } func setReverbMix(_ value: Float) { reverb.wetDryMix = value } } struct ContentView: View { @State private var audioManager = AudioEngineManager() @State private var pitch: Float = 0 @State private var reverb: Float = 0 var body: some View { VStack(spacing: 20) { Text("🎵 Audio Player with Reverb & Pitch") .font(.title2) HStack { Button("Prepare") { audioManager.prepare() } Button("Play") { audioManager.play() } .padding() .background(Color.green) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) Button("Pause") { audioManager.pause() } .padding() .background(Color.red) .foregroundColor(.white) .cornerRadius(10) } VStack { Text("Pitch: \(Int(pitch)) cents") Slider(value: $pitch, in: -2400...2400, step: 100) { _ in audioManager.setPitch(pitch) } } VStack { Text("Reverb Mix: \(Int(reverb))%") Slider(value: $reverb, in: 0...100, step: 1) { _ in audioManager.setReverbMix(reverb) } } } .padding() } }
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267
Apr ’25
watchOS longFormAudio cannot de active
My workout watch app supports audio playback during exercise sessions. When users carry both Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods, with AirPods connected to the iPhone, I want to route audio from Apple Watch to AirPods for playback. I've implemented this functionality using the following code. try? session.setCategory(.playback, mode: .default, policy: .longFormAudio, options: []) try await session.activate() When users are playing music on iPhone and trigger my code in the watch app, Apple Watch correctly guides users to select AirPods, pauses the iPhone's music, and plays my audio. However, when playback finishes and I end the session using the code below: try session.setActive(false, options:[.notifyOthersOnDeactivation]) the iPhone doesn't automatically resume the previously interrupted music playback—it requires manual intervention. Is this expected behavior, or am I missing other important steps in my code?
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324
Nov ’25
Not able to write AAC audio with 96 kHz sample rate using AVAudioRecorder or Extended audio file services
Not able to record audio in AAC format with 96 kHz sample rate using AVAudioRecorder or Extended Audio File services with 96 kHz input audio from input device. The audio recording settings used are let settings: [String: Any] = [ AVFormatIDKey: Int(kAudioFormatMPEG4AAC), AVSampleRateKey: sampleRate AVNumberOfChannelsKey: 1 AVEncoderAudioQualityKey: AVAudioQuality.high.rawValue ] When tried using AVAudioEngine using AVAudioFile, AVAudioFile(forWriting: fileURL, // file extension .m4a settings: fileSettings, commonFormat: AVAudioCommonFormat.pcmFormatFloat32, interleaved: interleaved) else { return } got error CodecConverterFactory.cpp:977 unable to select compatible encoder sample rate AudioConverter.cpp:1017 Failed to create a new in process converter -> from 1 ch, 96000 Hz, Float32 to 1 ch, 96000 Hz, aac (0x00000000) 0 bits/channel, 0 bytes/packet, 0 frames/packet, 0 bytes/frame, with status 1718449215
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537
Nov ’25
Best way to stream audio from file system
I am trying to stream audio from local filesystem. For that, I am trying to use an AVAssetResourceLoaderDelegate for an AVURLAsset. However, Content-Length is not known at the start. To overcome this, I tried several methods: Set content length as nil, in the AVAssetResourceLoadingContentInformationRequest Set content length to -1, in the ContentInformationRequest Both of these cause the AVPlayerItem to fail with an error. I also tried setting Content-Length as INT_MAX, and setting a renewalDate = Date(timeIntervalSinceNow: 5). However, that seems to be buggy. Even after updating the Content-Length to the correct value (e.g. X bytes) and finishing that loading request, the resource loader keeps getting requests with requestedOffset = X with dataRequest.requestsAllDataToEndOfResource = true. These requests keep coming indefinitely, and as a result it seems that the next item in the queue does not get played. Also, .AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime notification does not get called. I wanted to check if this is an expected behavior or is there a bug in this implementation. Also, what is the recommended way to stream audio of unknown initial length from local file system? Thanks!
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187
Mar ’25
Always audio from latest connected external USB mic
Hello! I've two mics connected to a USB-hub. The USB-hub is then connected to my iPad. Both mics are part of the audio session's list of available inputs. The problem is that regardless of which mic I select in my app (using setPreferredInput() on the audio session), the audio keeps coming from the mic that was last connected to the USB-hub. Anyone that knows if this is a limitation in iPadOS/iOS?
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209
Jul ’25
AVSpeechSynthesizer pulls words out of thin air.
Hi, I'm working on a project that uses the AVSpeechSynthesizer and AVSpeechUtterance. I discovered by chance that the AVSpeechSynthesizer automatically completes some words instead of just outputting what it's supposed to. These are abbreviations for days of the week or months, but not all of them. I don't want either of them automatically completed, but only the specified text. The completion transcends languages. I have written a short example program for demonstration purposes. import SwiftUI import AVFoundation import Foundation let synthesizer: AVSpeechSynthesizer = AVSpeechSynthesizer() struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { VStack { Button { utter("mon") } label: { Text("mon") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("tue") } label: { Text("tue") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("thu") } label: { Text("thu") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("feb") } label: { Text("feb") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("feb", lang: "de-DE") } label: { Text("feb DE") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("wed") } label: { Text("wed") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) } .padding() } private func utter(_ text: String, lang: String = "en-US") { let utterance = AVSpeechUtterance(string: text) let voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: lang) utterance.voice = voice synthesizer.speak(utterance) } } #Preview { ContentView() } Thank you Christian
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221
Nov ’25
AVAudioRecorder loses audio recorded before interruption
Hi everyone, I'm running into an issue with AVAudioRecorder when handling interruptions such as phone calls or alarms. Problem: When the app is recording audio and an interruption occurs: I handle the interruption with audioRecorder?.pause() inside AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification (on .began). On .ended, I check for .shouldResume and call audioRecorder?.record() again. The recorder resumes successfully, but only the audio recorded after the interruption is saved. The audio recorded before the interruption is lost, even though I'm using the same file URL and not recreating the recorder. Repro: Start a recording with AVAudioRecorder Simulate a system interruption (e.g., incoming call) Resume recording after the interruption Stop and inspect the output audio file Expected: Full audio (before and after interruption) should be saved. Actual: Only the audio after interruption is saved; the earlier part is missing Notes: According to the documentation, calling .record() after .pause() should resume recording into the same file. I confirmed that the file URL does not change, and I do not recreate the recorder instance. No error is thrown by the system during this process. This behavior happens consistently when the app is interrupted and resumed. Question: Is this a known issue? Is there a recommended workaround for preserving the full recording when interruptions happen? Thanks in advance!
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380
Dec ’25
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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703
Dec ’25
storing AVAsset in SwiftData
Hi, I am creating an app that can include videos or images in it's data. While @Attribute(.externalStorage) helps with images, with AVAssets I actually would like access to the URL behind that data. (as it would be stupid to load and then save the data again just to have a URL) One key component is to keep all of this clean enough so that I can use (private) CloudKit syncing with the resulting model. All the best Christoph
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615
Jun ’25
Apple Music iOS 26 features in Android
Since many users like me use Apple Music on Android, the app is almost as feature-rich as iOS. It would be fantastic if the developers could add the new iOS 26 features to the Android app, along with a minor UI change. I know it’s challenging to implement liquid glass on Android hardware or design, but features like auto-mix, pronunciation, and translation could be added. kindly consider this request !!!!
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216
Jul ’25
Start and stop recording Voice Memos with Siri
using iOS 26.2; Airpods 4 Long press stem to launch Siri Speak "Record Voice Memo" -> Recording starts Recording in progress... Long press stem to launch Siri -> Nothing happens. To stop recording need use phone. is this intended behaviour? i would like to be able to stop recording with Siri I am able to launch Siri from phone while recording, but point is to keep phone in pocket and start/stop recordings only via Airpods.
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181
Dec ’25
Logic Pro cannot load v3 audio unit with framework compiled with Swift 6
Sequoia 15.4.1 (24E263) XCode: 16.3 (16E140) Logic Pro: 11.2.1 I’ve been developing a complex audio unit for Mac OS that works perfectly well in its own bespoke host app and is now well into its beta testing stage. It did take some effort to get it to work well in Logic Pro however and all was fine and working well until: The AU part is an empty app extension with a framework containing its code. The framework contains Swift code for the UI and C code for the DSP parts. When the framework is compiled using the Swift 5 compiler the AU will run in Logic with no problems. (I should also mention that AU passes the most strict auval tests). But… when the framework is compiled with Swift 6 Logic Pro cannot load it. Logic displays a message saying the audio unit could not be loaded and to contact the developer. My own host app loads the AU perfectly well with the Swift 6 version, so I know there’s nothing wrong with the audio unit. I cannot find any differences in any of the built output files except, of course, the actual binary code in the framework. I’ve worked for hours on this and cannot find a solution other than to build the framework in Swift 5. (I worked hard to get all the async code updated and working with Swift 6! so I feel a little cheated!) What is happening? Is this a bug in Logic? Is this a bug in Swift 6 compiler/linker? I’m at the Duh! hands in the air, tearing out hair stage! ( once again!)
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532
Jul ’25
Indicate Packet Loss With AVAudioConverter for OPUS Decoding
I'm using an AVAudioConverter object to decode an OPUS stream for VoIP. The decoding itself works well, however, whenever the stream stalls (no more audio packet is available to decode because of network instability) this can be heard in crackling / abrupt stop in decoded audio. OPUS can mitigate this by indicating packet loss by passing a null pointer in the C-library to int opus_decode_float (OpusDecoder * st, const unsigned char * data, opus_int32 len, float * pcm, int frame_size, int decode_fec), see https://opus-codec.org/docs/opus_api-1.2/group__opus__decoder.html#ga9c554b8c0214e24733a299fe53bb3bd2. However, with AVAudioConverter using Swift I'm constructing an AVAudioCompressedBuffer like so:         let compressedBuffer = AVAudioCompressedBuffer(             format: VoiceEncoder.Constants.networkFormat,             packetCapacity: 1,             maximumPacketSize: data.count         )         compressedBuffer.byteLength = UInt32(data.count)         compressedBuffer.packetCount = 1   compressedBuffer.packetDescriptions! .pointee.mDataByteSize = UInt32(data.count)         data.copyBytes(             to: compressedBuffer.data .assumingMemoryBound(to: UInt8.self),             count: data.count         ) where data: Data contains the raw OPUS frame to be decoded. How can I specify data loss in this context and cause the AVAudioConverter to output PCM data whenever no more input data is available? More context: I'm specifying the audio format like this:         static let frameSize: UInt32 = 960         static let sampleRate: Float64 = 48000.0         static var networkFormatStreamDescription = AudioStreamBasicDescription(             mSampleRate: sampleRate,             mFormatID: kAudioFormatOpus,             mFormatFlags: 0,             mBytesPerPacket: 0,             mFramesPerPacket: frameSize,             mBytesPerFrame: 0,             mChannelsPerFrame: 1,             mBitsPerChannel: 0,             mReserved: 0         )         static let networkFormat = AVAudioFormat( streamDescription: &networkFormatStreamDescription )! I've tried 1) setting byteLength and packetCount to zero and 2) returning nil but setting .haveData in the AVAudioConverterInputBlock I'm using with no success.
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918
May ’25
Implementing Enhanced Dialogue on tvOS 18
How does a third party developer go about supporting the new Enhanced Dialogue option for video apps in tvOS 18? If an app is using the standard AVPlayerViewController, I had assumed it would be a simple-ish matter of building against the tvOS 18 SDK but apparently not, the options don't appear, not even greyed out.
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640
Mar ’25
Feature Request: Long-Lived Access to Personal Apple Music Data
Feature Request: Long-Lived Access to Personal Apple Music Data Use Case Summary I'm developing a personal portfolio website (using Nuxt) and want to display information from my own Apple Music library - showcasing personal playlists, recently played tracks, or a read-only "now playing" widget. This is purely for personal use on my website and doesn't require other users to log in. With Spotify's API, implementing this was straightforward thanks to automatic token refresh. I want a similarly seamless integration with Apple Music. Challenge with MusicKit and Music User Tokens Apple Music API requirements Apple's Music API requires a valid Music User Token (MUT) for requests involving personal library data. Beyond the Apple Developer Token, you must obtain a user-specific token via MusicKit authentication to access your own library playlists, play history, or current playback status. Token expiration and manual renewal Music User Tokens expire after approximately 6 months without any mechanism to automatically refresh or renew them - unlike typical OAuth flows that provide refresh tokens. Apple's guidance suggests the device (e.g., iPhone) is responsible for obtaining new user tokens when old ones expire. This works for interactive apps on Apple devices but fails in server-side or long-lived web contexts like a personal website widget. Impact on personal projects Displaying Apple Music data on a public-facing site becomes difficult. I would need to periodically re-authenticate through the MusicKit JS flow every few months just to keep a widget alive. Embedding credentials in a public site is insecure, and manual token refreshing is cumbersome and easy to forget. Comparison to Spotify's Token Model Spotify's API offers a developer-friendly authentication model. Their OAuth flow provides a Refresh Token that applications can use to obtain new access tokens automatically without requiring user re-authorization. This means a personal app can maintain continuous access to a user's Spotify data for extended periods until access is revoked. When building a similar feature with Spotify, this automatic token renewal was crucial. I could safely store the refresh token on my server and have my app periodically update the access token. Many developers have created public-facing widgets showing currently playing tracks on blogs or GitHub profiles using this model. Unfortunately, Apple Music's API lacks an equivalent capability, putting it at a disadvantage for personal projects. Proposed Solutions I request Apple's consideration for one of these enhancements: Provide a mechanism to refresh or extend a Music User Token programmatically for server-side applications. This could be an OAuth-style refresh token issued alongside the MUT, or a dedicated endpoint to exchange an expired MUT for a new one. This would enable renewal without a full user re-auth/login each time. Allow developers to access their own Apple Music library data with just the long-lived Developer Token. Apple could permit GET requests to personal library endpoints using the Developer Token alone, or a special token tied to the developer's Apple ID. This access would be read-only - no ability to modify the library, purely for retrieving data. It could be an opt-in feature in the Apple Developer account settings. Either solution would significantly improve the developer experience for Apple Music API in personal projects. Security and Privacy Considerations This request is not about accessing others' data or creating privacy loopholes - it's about empowering an Apple Music subscriber to access their own information more conveniently. The proposed options respect privacy principles: The data accessed is only what the user already has access to - their own playlists, library items, or playback status. An automatic token refresh can be designed securely (revocable tokens bound to a single account with no increase in permissions). Read-only developer token access could be restricted to non-sensitive data and require explicit opt-in. Conclusion I request an improvement to Apple Music's developer experience through either (1) an automatic Music User Token refresh mechanism, or (2) a provision for read-only personal library access using a Developer Token. This would bring Apple Music integration capabilities closer to parity with services like Spotify for personal projects. I ask Apple's Developer Relations and the Apple Music API team to consider this feature request. If there are existing best practices or workarounds with current APIs, I would appreciate guidance. I invite feedback from Apple or other developers. Are there known patterns for maintaining an Apple Music user token for server-side applications, or any plans to support non-interactive use cases? Any advice is welcome. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to integrating Apple Music into my personal site as smoothly as with other services, and believe many developers would benefit from this added flexibility. Sources: User Authentication for MusicKit - Requirements for Music User Tokens StackOverflow: Do Apple Music User Tokens expire? - Confirmation of 6-month expiration MetaBrainz GSoC Blog - Documentation of MusicKit authentication limitations Apple Developer Forums - Information on token renewal behavior Spotify for Developers - Documentation on refresh token mechanism
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284
Mar ’25
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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151
Apr ’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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548
Jul ’25
Audio session activation occasionally fails from CarPlay
I'm working on adding CarPlay support to an audio app and am running into an issue. Occasionally, when a user opens the app from CarPlay while the main app scene is either not connected or is currently in the background, I will receive an error when attempting to activate the audio session. The code below mimics my setup: do { try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setCategory(.playback, mode: .spokenAudio) try AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().setActive(true) } catch { print(error) // NSOSStatusErrorDomain - 560557684: Session activation failed } That error code maps to AVAudioSession.ErrorCode.cannotInterruptOthers. Once in this state, all subsequent attempts to play different pieces of content will fail. However, things will start working normally if the user opens the app on their phone and tries again from CarPlay (while the app is in the foreground on their phone). I'm not sure why it would behave this way and want to note that I do have the audio background mode capability enabled. Has anyone else encountered this? Are there any workarounds or changes I could make to prevent this from happening?
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195
Apr ’25