Explore the integration of media technologies within your app. Discuss working with audio, video, camera, and other media functionalities.

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MPNowPlayingInfoCenter playbackState fails to update after losing audio focus on macOS
My Environment: Device: Mac (Apple Silicon, arm64) OS: macOS 15.6.1 Description: I'm developing a music app and have encountered an issue where I cannot update the playbackState in MPNowPlayingInfoCenter after my app loses audio focus to another app. Even though my app correctly calls [MPNowPlayingInfoCenter defaultCenter].playbackState = .paused, the system's Now Playing UI (Control Center, Lock Screen, AirPods controls) does not reflect this change. The UI remains stuck until the app that currently holds audio focus also changes its playback state. I've observed this same behavior in other third-party music apps from the App Store, which suggests it might be a system-level issue. Steps to Reproduce: Use two most popular music apps in Chinese app Store (NeteaseCloud music and QQ music) (let's call them App A and App B): Start playback in App A. Start playback in App B. (App B now has audio focus, and App A is still playing). Attempt to pause App A via the system's Control Center or its own UI. Observed Behavior: App A's audio stream stops, but in the system's Now Playing controls, App A still appears to be playing. The progress bar continues to advance, and the pause button becomes unresponsive. If you then pause App B, the Now Playing UI for App A immediately corrects itself and displays the proper "paused" state. My Questions: Is there a specific procedure required to update MPNowPlayingInfoCenter when an app is not the current "Now Playing" application? Is this a known issue or expected behavior in macOS? Are there any official workarounds or solutions to ensure the UI updates correctly?
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119
Sep ’25
401 Unauthorized when attempting to access Apple Music Feed API
Hello, I am trying to access the Apple Music Feed API, but I am recieving a 401 Unauthorized error message whenever I try to access it. I have tried using my own code to generate a JWT and directly call the API (which can call the standard Apple Music API successfully). > GET /v1/feed/song/latest HTTP/2 > Host: api.media.apple.com > user-agent: insomnia/2023.5.8 > authorization: Bearer [REDACTED] > accept: */* < HTTP/2 401 < content-type: application/json; charset=utf-8 < content-length: 0 < x-apple-jingle-correlation-key: AV5IOHBNM2UUJVOFQ4HZ2TGF6Q < x-daiquiri-instance: daiquiri:10001:daiquiri-all-shared-ext-7bb7c9b9bb-r459v:7987:25RELEASE91:daiquiri-amp-kubernetes-shared-ext-ak8s-prod-pv4-amp-daiquiri-ingress-prod and also the Apple provided Python example code, which gives me authentication errors too. $ python3 ./apple_music_feed_example.py --key-id NMBH[...] --team-id 3TNZ[...] --secret-key-file-path "/Users/foxt/Documents/am-feed/NMBH[...].p8" --out-dir . running.... INFO:__main__:Sending requests to https://api.media.apple.com INFO:__main__:Getting the latest export for feed artist Exception: Authentication Failed. Did you provide the correct team id, key id, and p8 file? Does this API need to be enabled on my account separately from the main Apple Music API? The documentation reads to me as if anyone with an Apple Developer Programme membership can use this API and I did not see any information regarding any other requirements
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351
Sep ’25
Can individual Apple Developer accounts stream full tracks with MusicKit?
I have implemented fetching Apple Music preview songs using a Swift framework integrated into a Unity app. My requirement is to fetch full tracks from a user’s Apple Music library and play them inside Unity. To do this, I understand that I need to handle authentication, generate a Developer Token, and then obtain a Music User Token to access the user’s Apple Music content. Currently, I have an Individual Apple Developer account (not Organization). Based on my research, it seems that: With an Individual account, I can implement this functionality and even upload builds to TestFlight for internal testing. However, when releasing the app publicly on the App Store, full-track playback may be restricted for Individual accounts and allowed only for Organization accounts. 👉 Can you confirm if this understanding is correct? 👉 Specifically, is it possible for an Individual account to fetch and play full-length tracks from a subscribed Apple Music user’s library (at least for internal/TestFlight testing)?
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161
Sep ’25
Use MusicKit's User Library Artists with Catalog Artists?
When making a call to https://api.music.apple.com/v1/me/library/artists to get a user's library artists, it returns the following (as an example): [ { id: 'r.FCwruQb', type: 'library-artists', href: '/v1/me/library/artists/r.FCwruQb?l=en-US', attributes: { name: 'A Great Big World' } }, { id: 'r.7VSWOgj', type: 'library-artists', href: '/v1/me/library/artists/r.7VSWOgj?l=en-US', attributes: { name: 'Aaliyah' } }, ... ] If I try and use an artist id from that retuned data to look up additional information about the artist by calling https://api.music.apple.com/v1/catalog/us/artists/{id}, it fails. User Library Artists don't seem to equal Catalog Artists. It'd be great if there was a way to use these interchangeably. Am I missing something?
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247
Aug ’25
Why does CADisplayLink of an external UIScreen drift in time?
I am using Apple's original Lightning Digital AV-adapter (Lightning-to-HDMI dongle) to connect my iPhone to an external display via a HDMI cable. I need to synchronize rendering with the external display's refresh rate, so I create a new CADisplayLink tied to the external display's UIScreen: UIScreen.screens[externalDisplayIdx].displayLink(withTarget:, selector:). The callback is being called regularly, but with increasing delay relative to the CADisplayLink.timestamp, so the next time the callback is called, I have less and less time to draw the next frame (see the snippet below). Assuming 60 FPS, the value of secondsTillDeadline starts at an arbitrary value in the range of approx -0.0001 to 0.0166667, and then it slowly decreases towards zero (and for a brief period it goes into small negative numbers). Once it reaches zero, it flips back to 0.0166667 and continues to decrease again. This cycle repeats indefinitely. Changing the external display's resolution (UIScreen's mode) or the CADisplayLink's preferredFrameRateRange to a lower FPS does not seem to have any effect on the temporal drifting (even the rate of change seem to be the same). When I create a new CADisplayLink for the iPhone's main screen, the value of secondsTillDeadline is stable, it does not drift and it is very close to 0.0166667, as expected. Is this drift caused by the external monitor or by Apple's Lightning-to-HDMI dongle ...or is the problem somewhere else? Can the drifting be stopped? func onDisplayLinkUpdate(displayLink: CADisplayLink) { // Gradually decreases from 0.01667 to -0.0001, then flips back to 0.01667 and continues to decrease let secondsTillDeadline = displayLink.targetTimestamp - CACurrentMediaTime() }
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220
Aug ’25
AVSpeechSynthesizer read Mandarin as Cantonese(iOS 26 beta 3))
In iOS 26, AVSpeechSynthesizer read Mandarin into Cantonese pronunciation. No matter how you set the language, and change the settings of my phone system, it doesn't work. let utterance = AVSpeechUtterance(string: "你好啊") //let voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: "zh-CN") // not work let voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: "zh-Hans") // not work too utterance.voice = voice et synth = AVSpeechSynthesizer() synth.speak(utterance)
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224
Aug ’25
BackgroundAssets `url(for:` throws error for locally available asset
On an iPhone running iOS 26 beta 5, url(for: FilePath("subdir/asset.mov")) most always throws this error: The URL for “subdir/asset.mov” couldn’t be retrieved: “asset.mov” couldn’t be copied to “subdir” because an item with the same name already exists. Yet, contents(at: FilePath("subdir/asset.mov")) always returns Data for a playable AVMovie. How can I avoid this url(for:) error? The asset pack in question is downloaded. The error persists even after pack deletion, redownload, relaunch, and combinations of that. // Assets repo root subdir.aar subdir/asset.mov subdir/asset_thumb.heic subdir/Manifest.json // Manifest.json { "assetPackID": "subdir", "downloadPolicy": { "onDemand": {} }, "fileSelectors": [ { "directory": "subdir", }, ], "platforms": [ "iOS", "visionOS" ] } xcrun ba-package subdir/Manifest.json -o subdir.aar xcrun ba-serve --host 192.168.0.10 -p 443 subdir.aar
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173
Aug ’25
MusicKit API returns 500 Internal Server Error despite valid JWT and setup
My app is properly configured with MusicKit. I've generated a JWT using my valid credentials (Team ID, Key ID, private key), and I’ve ensured the time settings are correct via NTP. When I call: https://api.music.apple.com/v1/catalog/jp/search?term=ado&amp;types=songs I consistently receive a 500 Internal Server Error. The JWT is generated using ES256 with valid iat and exp values. I’ve confirmed the token decodes properly using jwt.io, and it's passed via the Authorization: Bearer header. Things I’ve confirmed: Key ID, Team ID, private key are correct App ID is configured with MusicKit capability JWT is generated and signed correctly macOS time is synced via NTP Used both curl and Python to test — same result Is there anything else I should check on the Apple Developer Console (like App ID, Certificates, or provisioning profile)? Or could this be a backend issue on Apple’s side? Any guidance would be appreciated.
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239
Aug ’25
Access to favorited artists from Music API?
It's been well over a year since Apple added favoriting of artists back to Apple Music (the little star icon on an artist page), but yet I still haven't seen a way to get this data from an authenticated user from Music API. I was expecting to hear something about this during the WWDC, but there have been no announcements that I've caught. Has anyone else heard anything? People assume when they provide access to their Apple Music account that we can actually get to the data in their Apple Music account, and we end up looking a little dumb not being able to get this core data.
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277
Jul ’25
Broadcast Upload Extension - Screen Sharing Fails to Start After Countdown (No Errors Logged)
Hello everyone, I'm working on implementing a screen sharing feature using RPSystemBroadcastPickerView and a Broadcast Upload Extension to share the entire app screen in an iOS application. The Broadcast Upload Extension is set up following Apple's ReplayKit guidelines. However, I’m encountering an issue during the broadcast startup sequence: ❗ Problem Description The Screen Broadcast UI appears as expected I tap “Start Broadcast” The countdown (3 → 2 → 1) completes Then it immediately reverts to the "Start Broadcast" screen, and screen sharing does not begin No error messages are displayed None of the extension lifecycle methods (broadcastStarted(withSetupInfo:), processSampleBuffer, etc.) are called There are no logs or crash reports, neither in the main app nor in the extension ✅ What Has Been Verified Info.plist of the Broadcast Upload Extension includes: NSExtensionPointIdentifier = com.apple.broadcast-services-upload NSExtensionPrincipalClass set correctly RPBroadcastProcessMode = RPBroadcastProcessModeSampleBuffer preferredExtension is set properly to the extension’s bundle identifier Extension is listed in the main app's build settings under "Frameworks, Libraries, and Embedded Content" ⚠️ Additional Concern We noticed that in Xcode (latest version), the Broadcast Upload Extension is listed under "Embedded Frameworks" with the setting "Embed Without Signing", and there is no option to change it to "Embed & Sign". We're wondering if this could be the reason the extension fails to launch correctly at runtime, despite being detected by the broadcast picker. ❓ Questions Has anyone faced similar issues where the broadcast never starts despite correct setup? Could the "Embed Without Signing" be causing the system to silently cancel or ignore the extension at runtime? Are there any provisioning profile or entitlement requirements specific to Broadcast Upload Extensions that might trigger this behavior silently? Any insights, suggestions, or workarounds would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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206
Jul ’25
currentPlaybackPitch or preservesPitch parameter
Hi Apple Music API / MusicKit / MediaPlayer Team, Similar to the currentPlaybackRate keeps the same pitch, it would be great to have a currentPlaybackPitch parameter as well. Alternatively, adding a preservesPitch parameter would also work. I see that iOS 26 AutoMix on Apple Music currently does pitch shifting during music transitions, so maybe this is something that could be exposed on the later betas of iOS 26? Main feature request we get is to have simple pitch changes to Apple Music we play through our app. Is this being considered?
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407
Jul ’25
MPMediaPlayback.currentPlaybackRate no longer working in iOS 15.4?
Just wondering if anyone else is having issues with currentPlaybackRate in release version of iOS 15.4? In my particular case this is using MPMusicPlayerController.applicationQueuePlayer. I've always had issues controlling this property reliably but from what I can see it is now completely non-operational in 15.4. I've isolated this behavior in a trivial project, and will file a radar, but hoping others may have some insight first. FWIW- This is my trivial test case: class ViewController: UIViewController {     lazy var player: MPMusicPlayerApplicationController = {         let player = MPMusicPlayerController.applicationQueuePlayer         player.repeatMode = .none         player.shuffleMode = .off         player.beginGeneratingPlaybackNotifications()         return player     }()     override func viewDidLoad() {         super.viewDidLoad()         NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(forName: .MPMusicPlayerControllerPlaybackStateDidChange, object: nil, queue: .main) { [weak self] notification in             guard let notificationPlayer = notification.object as? MPMusicPlayerApplicationController,                   notificationPlayer === self?.player else {                 return             }                          debugPrint("Player state now: \(notificationPlayer.playbackState)")         }     }     @IBAction func goAction(_ sender: Any) {         guard let item = MPMediaQuery.songs().items?.randomElement() else {             debugPrint("Unable to access media items")             return         }         debugPrint("Now playing item: \(item.title ?? "")")         player.setQueue(with: [item.playbackStoreID])         player.prepareToPlay() { error in             guard error == nil else {                 debugPrint("Player error: \(error!.localizedDescription)")                 return             }             DispatchQueue.main.async { [weak self] in                 self?.player.play()             }         }     } @IBAction func slowAction(_ sender: Any) {         debugPrint("Setting currentPlaybackRate to 0.5")         player.currentPlaybackRate = 0.5         checkPlaybackRate()     } @IBAction func fastAction(_ sender: Any) {         debugPrint("Setting currentPlaybackRate to 1.5")         player.currentPlaybackRate = 1.5         checkPlaybackRate()     } func checkPlaybackRate(afterSeconds delay: TimeInterval = 1.0) {         DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + delay) {             debugPrint("After \(delay) seconds currentPlaybackRate now: \(self.player.currentPlaybackRate)")         }     } } Typical console output: "Now playing item: I Know You Know" "Player state now: MPMusicPlaybackState(rawValue: 2)" "Player state now: MPMusicPlaybackState(rawValue: 1)" "Setting currentPlaybackRate to 1.5" "After 1.0 seconds currentPlaybackRate now: 1.0" "Setting currentPlaybackRate to 0.5" "After 1.0 seconds currentPlaybackRate now: 1.0"
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9.2k
Jul ’25
Apple Music / MusicKit and Simulator
It's been an ask for a few years and I'm wondering if there are any plans, or whether the '26 SDKs/Tools allow Apple Music to work in the simulator? I develop for the Vision Pro so the usual 'fix' of running on the device is a bit of a hard ask. At the very least a small sample library that works in the simulator would be welcome (similar to how photos works) Cheers
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146
Jul ’25
Linking to iTunesLibrary requires access every launch?
Hello, I have a command line application that uses iTunesLibrary to "save" the state of what I have listened to. I have it run every night via a LaunchAgent. You can see the source here: https://github.com/bolsinga/itunes_json Prior to Sequoia it would run nightly. I'd just have to grant it access to the Music library once, and it would be fine thereafter. However with Sequoia it requires UI interaction to grant it access every time. This makes it no longer run unattended overnight, defeating its purpose. I have the console logs of when this happens. You can see it in my issue tracking it here: https://github.com/bolsinga/itunes_json/issues/410 One thing that makes me wonder is that it is a command line application, not a bundle. How do I make a command line application get access to MusicKit / iTunesLibrary, and keep it thereafter? I'd like to get my pre-Sequoia behavior back. I've filed FB15592660 too. I've granted it access to run in the background, as well as access to my Music library (please see attached screenshots). AMPLibraryAgent 10:48:29.489944-0700 xpc Connection from framework client invalidated pid:57606 clientname:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json) AMPLibraryAgent 10:48:29.492763-0700 service Unloading domains(14) for ClientID:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json)-1229 previous open:15 new open:1 itunes_json 10:48:59.980864-0700 connection [0x157f05800] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.amp.library.framework tccd 10:48:59.982568-0700 access AUTHREQ_ATTRIBUTION: msgID=1795.214, attribution={accessing={TCCDProcess: identifier=itunes_json, pid=57652, auid=501, euid=501, binary_path=/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json}, requesting={TCCDProcess: identifier=com.apple.AMPLibraryAgent, pid=1795, auid=501, euid=501, binary_path=/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AMPLibrary.framework/Versions/A/Support/AMPLibraryAgent}, }, tccd 10:48:59.982651-0700 access requestor: TCCDProcess: identifier=com.apple.AMPLibraryAgent, pid=1795, auid=501, euid=501, binary_path=/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AMPLibrary.framework/Versions/A/Support/AMPLibraryAgent is checking access for accessor TCCDProcess: identifier=itunes_json, pid=57652, auid=501, euid=501, binary_path=/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json tccd 10:48:59.995636-0700 access AUTHREQ_SUBJECT: msgID=1795.214, subject=/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json, tccd 10:48:59.996283-0700 access -[TCCDAccessIdentity staticCode]: static code for: identifier /Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json, type: 1: 0xc00341b00 at /Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json tccd 10:49:00.018205-0700 access Failed to match existing code requirement for subject /Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json and service kTCCServiceMediaLibrary cdhash H"6bc380972f4df49b337a2a05308fb7b98fbe6473" or cdhash H"0708bcaabbfbab8770522050f7e2642d4d864f31" cdhash H"6bc380972f4df49b337a2a05308fb7b98fbe6473" or cdhash H"0708bcaabbfbab8770522050f7e2642d4d864f31" tccd 10:49:00.018997-0700 access AUTHREQ_PROMPTING: msgID=1795.214, service=kTCCServiceMediaLibrary, subject=Sub:{/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json}Resp:{TCCDProcess: identifier=itunes_json, pid=57652, auid=501, euid=501, binary_path=/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json}, AMPLibraryAgent 10:49:02.489170-0700 xpc ampld> register framework ClientName:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json) tccd 10:49:02.488189-0700 events Publishing <TCCDEvent: type=Create, service=kTCCServiceMediaLibrary, identifier_type=Path, identifier=/Users/bolsinga/Applications/itunes_json/Products/usr/local/bin/itunes_json> to 4 subscribers: { 633 = "<TCCDEventSubscriber: token=633, state=Initial, csid=(null)>"; 628 = "<TCCDEventSubscriber: token=628, state=Passed, csid=com.apple.chronod>"; 464 = "<TCCDEventSubscriber: token=464, state=Passed, csid=com.apple.cloudd>"; 513 = "<TCCDEventSubscriber: token=513, state=Passed, csid=com.apple.photolibraryd>"; } AMPLibraryAgent 10:49:02.490391-0700 xpc ampld> registered framework ClientName:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json) with clientID:1230 itunes_json 10:49:02.792084-0700 connection [0x147e04340] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.amp.artworkd itunes_json 10:49:02.801482-0700 <Missing Description> openDatabase 0xe4af30f4493e5ef5 artwork folder Y '<private>' itunes_json 10:49:02.805087-0700 <Missing Description> openDatabase 0xf2db6e8d7672edc9 artwork folder Y '<private>' itunes_json 10:49:02.806736-0700 <Missing Description> openDatabase 0xfb2acd898c951851 artwork folder Y '<private>' itunes_json 10:49:02.813286-0700 <Missing Description> openDatabase 0xf0f4919c5ff0e88 artwork folder Y '<private>' itunes_json 10:49:09.634928-0700 connection [0x600002b6a0d0] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.cfprefsd.daemon itunes_json 10:49:09.635019-0700 connection [0x600002b78000] activating connection: mach=true listener=false peer=false name=com.apple.cfprefsd.agent AMPLibraryAgent 10:49:12.382878-0700 xpc Connection from framework client invalidated pid:57652 clientname:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json) AMPLibraryAgent 10:49:12.383474-0700 service Unloading domains(14) for ClientID:iTunesLibrary(itunes_json)-1230 previous open:15 new open:1 itunes_json.log
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927
Jul ’25
Personas and Lighting in a visionOS 26 (or earlier) SharePlay Session
Use case: When SharePlay -ing a fully immersive 3D scene (e.g. a virtual stage), I would like to shine lights on specific Personas, so they show up brighter when someone in the scene is recording the feed (think a camera person in the scene wearing Vision Pro). Note: This spotlight effect only needs to render in the camera person's headset and does NOT need to be journaled or shared. Before I dive into this, my technical question: Can environmental and/or scene lighting affect Persona brightness in a SharePlay? If not, is there a way to programmatically make Personas "brighter" when recording? My screen recordings always seem to turn out darker than what's rendered in environment, and manually adjusting the contrast tends to blow out the details in a Persona's face (especially in visionOS 26).
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66
Jun ’25