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

Audio Documentation

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coreaudio-api mailing list search broken
Hello, The search functionality of the coreaudio-api mailing list archive has been broken for a very long time. Several of the lower-level audio APIs have only been discussed on this mailing list, making it critical for those of us maintaining old audio code. Steps to reproduce: Open https://lists.apple.com/archives/list/coreaudio-api@lists.apple.com/ in your web browser. Enter a search term in the "Search this list" field in the top-right corner of the page. The search will eventually time out with "502 Bad Gateway" Can somebody please forward this information to the current maintainer? I've tried to contact developer support but they weren't sure what to do. Thanks!
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3w
Where is the License Agreement for Android version of ShazamKit?
I have integrated the ShazamKit SDK into my iOS app and would like to implement the same functionality in my Android app. My question is: Can I use the Android version of the ShazamKit SDK for commercial purposes? After extensive research, I could not find any official information regarding the license of the Android version of the ShazamKit SDK. Could you please provide a formal license statement?
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140
Apr ’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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764
Jan ’26
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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180
Dec ’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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506
Nov ’25
sysEx struct in CoreMIDI/MIDIMessages.h
The sysEx struct in the MIDIUniversalMessage struct has a channel member but the System Exclusive (7-Bit) Message doesn't have a channel field. The System Exclusive (7-Bit) Message has a # of bytes field but the sysEx struct doesn't have a nrOfBytes, byteCount or bytesUsed member. It looks like the channel member of the sysEx struct contains the number of used bytes. Is this a mistake in the header or did I misunderstand something?
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583
Dec ’25
Is there an errors with SpatialAudioCLI?
Hi, everyone, I downloaded the source code EditingSpatialAudioWithAnAudioMix.zip from https://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cinematic/editing-spatial-audio-with-an-audio-mix, when I carried out one of the actions named "process" in command line the program crashed!! Form the source code, I found that the value of componentType is set to kAudioUnitType_FormatConverter: // The actual `AudioUnit`. public var auAudioMix = AVAudioUnitEffect() init() { // Generate a component description for the audio unit. let componentDescription = AudioComponentDescription( componentType: kAudioUnitType_FormatConverter, componentSubType: kAudioUnitSubType_AUAudioMix, componentManufacturer: kAudioUnitManufacturer_Apple, componentFlags: 0, componentFlagsMask: 0) auAudioMix=AVAudioUnitEffect(audioComponentDescription: componentDescription) } But in the document from https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfaudio/avaudiouniteffect/init(audiocomponentdescription:), it seems that componentType can not be set to kAudioUnitType_FormatConverter and : Has everyone encountered this problem?
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200
Nov ’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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157
Nov ’25
Appleデバイスの内蔵楽器音について
iPhoneやiPadにおいて、画面上のボタンなどをタップした際に、特定の楽器音を発音させる方法をご存知の方いらっしゃいませんか? 現在音楽学習アプリを作成途中で、画面上の鍵盤や指板のボタン状のframeに、単音又は和音を割当て発音させる事を考えております SwiftUIのcodeのみで実現できないでしょうか 嘗て、MIDIのlevel1の楽器の発音機能があった様に記憶していますが、現在のOS上では同様の機能を実装してないように思えます 皆様のお知恵をお貸しください
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Mar ’25
AVAudioSession.outputVolume does not reflect system volume changes made while app is in background
I have a question regarding the behavior of AVAudioSession.sharedInstance().outputVolume. Observed behavior: When the app is in the foreground, I read audioSession.outputVolume (for example, 0.1). The app is then moved to the background. While the app is in the background, the user changes the system volume using the hardware buttons (for example, to 0.5). When the app returns to the foreground, audioSession.outputVolume still reports the previous value (0.1). From my testing, outputVolume only seems to update when the system volume is changed while the app is in the foreground. Volume changes made while the app is in the background are not reflected when the app returns to the foreground. Questions: According to Apple’s documentation for AVAudioSession.outputVolume: “The systemwide output volume set by the user.” https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfaudio/avaudiosession/outputvolume However, based on our testing on iOS 18.6.2 and iOS 18.1, the observed behavior seems to differ from this description. Questions: The documentation states that outputVolume represents the system-wide volume set by the user. In our testing, the value does not reflect volume changes made while the app is in the background and only updates when the app is in the foreground.Is this the expected behavior of AVAudioSession.outputVolume? Is there any other recommended way in Swift to retrieve the current system volume that reflects user changes made both while the app is in the foreground and while it is in the background? Any clarification on the intended behavior or recommended handling would be greatly appreciated.
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2w
SpeechAnalyzer > AnalysisContext lack of documentation
I'm using the new SpeechAnalyzer framework to detect certain commands and want to improve accuracy by giving context. Seems like AnalysisContext is the solution for this, but couldn't find any usage example. So I want to make sure that I'm doing it right or not. let context = AnalysisContext() context.contextualStrings = [ AnalysisContext.ContextualStringsTag("commands"): [ "set speed level", "set jump level", "increase speed", "decrease speed", ... ], AnalysisContext.ContextualStringsTag("vocabulary"): [ "speed", "jump", ... ] ] try await analyzer.setContext(context) With this implementation, it still gives outputs like "Set some speed level", "It's speed level", etc. Also, is it possible to make it expect number after those commands, in order to eliminate results like "set some speed level to" (instead of two).
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486
Jan ’26
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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322
Nov ’25
Issue using Siphon Tap on input AudioQueue
Hi all, I've developed an audio DSP application in C++ using AudioToolbox and CoreAudio on MacOS 14.4.1 with Xcode 15. I use an AudioQueue for input and another for output. This works great. I'm now adding real-time audio analysis eg spectral analysis. I want this to run independently of my audio processing so it can not interfere with audio playback. Taps on AudioQueues seem to be a good way of doing this... Since the analytics won't modify the audio data, I am using a Siphon Tap by setting the AudioQueueProcessingTapFlags to kAudioQueueProcessingTap_PreEffects | kAudioQueueProcessingTap_Siphon; This works fine on my output queue. However, on my input queue the Tap callback is called once and then a EXC_BAD_ACCESS occurs - screen shot below. NB: I believe that a callback should only call AudioQueueProcessingTapGetSourceAudio when not using a Siphon, so I don't call it. Relevant code: AudioQueueProcessingTapCallback tap_callback) { // Makes an audio tap for a queue void * tap_data_ptr = NULL; AudioQueueProcessingTapFlags tap_flags = kAudioQueueProcessingTap_PostEffects | kAudioQueueProcessingTap_Siphon; uint32_t max_frames = 0; AudioStreamBasicDescription asbd; AudioQueueProcessingTapRef tap_ref; OSStatus status = AudioQueueProcessingTapNew(queue_ref, tap_callback, tap_data_ptr, tap_flags, &max_frames, &asbd, &tap_ref); if (status != noErr) printf("Error while making Tap\n"); else printf("Successfully made tap\n"); } void tapper(void * tap_data, AudioQueueProcessingTapRef tap_ref, uint32_t number_of_frames_in, AudioTimeStamp * ts_ptr, AudioQueueProcessingTapFlags * tap_flags_ptr, uint32_t * number_of_frames_out_ptr, AudioBufferList * buf_list) { // Callback function for audio queue tap printf("Tap callback"); }``` Image of exception stack provided by Xcode: ![]("https://developer.apple.com/forums/content/attachment/27479e8d-a118-459b-aa2d-7e30528910e3" "title=Screenshot 2025-06-14 at 1.29.14 PM.png;width=932;height=562") What have I missed? Appreciate any help you learned folks may be able to provide. Best, Geoff.
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Jun ’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
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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673
Dec ’25
How to capture audio from the stream that's playing on the speakers?
Good day, ladies and gents. I have an application that reads audio from the microphone. I'd like it to also be able to read from the Mac's audio output stream. (A bonus would be if it could detect when the Mac is playing music.) I'd eventually be able to figure it out reading docs, but if someone can give a hint, I'd be very grateful, and would owe you the libation of your choice. Here's the code used to set up the AudioUnit: -(NSString*) configureAU { AudioComponent component = NULL; AudioComponentDescription description; OSStatus err = noErr; UInt32 param; AURenderCallbackStruct callback; if( audioUnit ) { AudioComponentInstanceDispose( audioUnit ); audioUnit = NULL; } // was CloseComponent // Open the AudioOutputUnit description.componentType = kAudioUnitType_Output; description.componentSubType = kAudioUnitSubType_HALOutput; description.componentManufacturer = kAudioUnitManufacturer_Apple; description.componentFlags = 0; description.componentFlagsMask = 0; if( component = AudioComponentFindNext( NULL, &description ) ) { err = AudioComponentInstanceNew( component, &audioUnit ); if( err != noErr ) { audioUnit = NULL; return [ NSString stringWithFormat: @"Couldn't open AudioUnit component (ID=%d)", err] ; } } // Configure the AudioOutputUnit: // You must enable the Audio Unit (AUHAL) for input and output for the same device. // When using AudioUnitSetProperty the 4th parameter in the method refers to an AudioUnitElement. // When using an AudioOutputUnit for input the element will be '1' and the output element will be '0'. param = 1; // Enable input on the AUHAL err = AudioUnitSetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioOutputUnitProperty_EnableIO, kAudioUnitScope_Input, 1, &param, sizeof(UInt32) ); chkerr("Couldn't set first EnableIO prop (enable inpjt) (ID=%d)"); param = 0; // Disable output on the AUHAL err = AudioUnitSetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioOutputUnitProperty_EnableIO, kAudioUnitScope_Output, 0, &param, sizeof(UInt32) ); chkerr("Couldn't set second EnableIO property on the audio unit (disable ootpjt) (ID=%d)"); param = sizeof(AudioDeviceID); // Select the default input device AudioObjectPropertyAddress OutputAddr = { kAudioHardwarePropertyDefaultInputDevice, kAudioObjectPropertyScopeGlobal, kAudioObjectPropertyElementMaster }; err = AudioObjectGetPropertyData( kAudioObjectSystemObject, &OutputAddr, 0, NULL, &param, &inputDeviceID ); chkerr("Couldn't get default input device (ID=%d)"); // Set the current device to the default input unit err = AudioUnitSetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioOutputUnitProperty_CurrentDevice, kAudioUnitScope_Global, 0, &inputDeviceID, sizeof(AudioDeviceID) ); chkerr("Failed to hook up input device to our AudioUnit (ID=%d)"); callback.inputProc = AudioInputProc; // Setup render callback, to be called when the AUHAL has input data callback.inputProcRefCon = self; err = AudioUnitSetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioOutputUnitProperty_SetInputCallback, kAudioUnitScope_Global, 0, &callback, sizeof(AURenderCallbackStruct) ); chkerr("Could not install render callback on our AudioUnit (ID=%d)"); param = sizeof(AudioStreamBasicDescription); // get hardware device format err = AudioUnitGetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioUnitProperty_StreamFormat, kAudioUnitScope_Input, 1, &deviceFormat, &param ); chkerr("Could not install render callback on our AudioUnit (ID=%d)"); audioChannels = MAX( deviceFormat.mChannelsPerFrame, 2 ); // Twiddle the format to our liking actualOutputFormat.mChannelsPerFrame = audioChannels; actualOutputFormat.mSampleRate = deviceFormat.mSampleRate; actualOutputFormat.mFormatID = kAudioFormatLinearPCM; actualOutputFormat.mFormatFlags = kAudioFormatFlagIsFloat | kAudioFormatFlagIsPacked | kAudioFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved; if( actualOutputFormat.mFormatID == kAudioFormatLinearPCM && audioChannels == 1 ) actualOutputFormat.mFormatFlags &= ~kLinearPCMFormatFlagIsNonInterleaved; #if __BIG_ENDIAN__ actualOutputFormat.mFormatFlags |= kAudioFormatFlagIsBigEndian; #endif actualOutputFormat.mBitsPerChannel = sizeof(Float32) * 8; actualOutputFormat.mBytesPerFrame = actualOutputFormat.mBitsPerChannel / 8; actualOutputFormat.mFramesPerPacket = 1; actualOutputFormat.mBytesPerPacket = actualOutputFormat.mBytesPerFrame; // Set the AudioOutputUnit output data format err = AudioUnitSetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioUnitProperty_StreamFormat, kAudioUnitScope_Output, 1, &actualOutputFormat, sizeof(AudioStreamBasicDescription)); chkerr("Could not change the stream format of the output device (ID=%d)"); param = sizeof(UInt32); // Get the number of frames in the IO buffer(s) err = AudioUnitGetProperty( audioUnit, kAudioDevicePropertyBufferFrameSize, kAudioUnitScope_Global, 0, &audioSamples, &param ); chkerr("Could not determine audio sample size (ID=%d)"); err = AudioUnitInitialize( audioUnit ); // Initialize the AU chkerr("Could not initialize the AudioUnit (ID=%d)"); // Allocate our audio buffers audioBuffer = [self allocateAudioBufferListWithNumChannels: actualOutputFormat.mChannelsPerFrame size: audioSamples * actualOutputFormat.mBytesPerFrame]; if( audioBuffer == NULL ) { [ self cleanUp ]; return [NSString stringWithFormat: @"Could not allocate buffers for recording (ID=%d)", err]; } return nil; } (...again, it would be nice to know if audio output is active and thereby choose the clean output stream over the noisy mic, but that would be a different chunk of code, and my main question may just be a quick edit to this chunk.) Thanks for your attention! ==Dave [p.s. if i get more than one useful answer, can i "Accept" more than one, to spread the credit around?] {pps: of course, the code lines up prettier in a monospaced font!}
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185
Jun ’25
Users experiencing frequent media services reset interruptions
I work on an iOS app that records video and audio. We've been getting reports for a while from users who are experiencing their video recordings being cut off. After investigating, I found that many users are receiving the AVAudioSessionMediaServicesWereResetNotification (.mediaServicesWereResetNotification) notification while recording. It's associated with the AVFoundationErrorDomain[-11819] error, which seems to indicate that the system audio daemon crashed. We have a handler registered to end the recording, show the user a prompt, and restart our AV sessions. However, from our logs this looks to be happening to hundreds of users every day and it's not an ideal user experience, so I would like to figure out why this is happening and if it's due to something that we're doing wrong. The debug menu option to trigger the audio session reset is not of much use, because it can't be triggered unless you leave the app and go to system settings. So our app can't be recording video when the debug reset is triggered. So far I haven't found a way to reproduced the issue locally, but I can see that it's happening to users from logs. I've found some posts online from developers experiencing similar issues, but none of them seem to directly address our issue. The system error doesn't include a userInfo dictionary, and as far as I can tell it's a system daemon crash so any logs would need to be captured from the OS. Is there any way that I could get more information about what may be causing this error that I may have missed?
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95
Apr ’25