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

Audio Documentation

Posts under Audio subtopic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

SpeechTranscriber extremely slow (14+ seconds) despite proper locale allocation and optimization
Using the official SwiftTranscriptionSampleApp from WWDC 2025, speech transcription takes 14+ seconds from audio input to first result, making it unusable for real-time applications. Environment iOS: 26.0 Beta Xcode: Beta 5 Device: iPhone 16 pro Sample App: Official Apple SwiftTranscriptionSampleApp from WWDC 2025 Configuration Tested Locale: en-US (properly allocated with AssetInventory.allocate(locale:)) and es-ES Setup: All optimizations applied (preheating, high priority, model retention) I started testing in my own app to replace SFSpeech API and include speech detection but after long fights with documentation (this part is quite terrible TBH) I tested the example (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/speech/bringing-advanced-speech-to-text-capabilities-to-your-app) and saw same results. I added some logs to check the specific time: 🎙️ [20:30:41.532] ✅ Analyzer started successfully - ready to receive audio! 🎙️ [20:30:41.532] Listening for transcription results... 🎙️ [20:30:56.342] 🚀 FIRST TRANSCRIPTION RESULT after 14.810s: 'Hello' (isFinal: false) Questions Is this expected performance for iOS 26 Beta, because old SFSpeech is far faster? Are there additional optimization steps for SpeechTranscriber? Should we expect significant performance improvements in later betas?
1
0
216
Aug ’25
Destroy MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again?
Is there a way to destroy MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again? In my app, the user has a setting to enable and disable MIDI 2.0. If MIDI 2.0 should not be supported (or if iOS version < 18), it creates a virtual destination and a virtual source. And if MIDI 2.0 should be enabled, it instead creates a MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint, which itself creates the virtual destination and source automatically. So here is my problem: I didn't find any way to destroy the MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint again. There is a method to disable it (setEnabled:NO), but that doesn't destroy or hide the virtual destination and source. So when the user turns MIDI 2.0 support off, I will have two virtual destinations and sources, and cannot get rid of the 2.0 ones. What is the correct way to get rid of the MIDIUMPMutableEndpoint once it is created?
0
0
146
Sep ’25
When to set AVAudioSession's preferredInput?
I want the audio session to always use the built-in microphone. However, when using the setPreferredInput() method like in this example private func enableBuiltInMic() { // Get the shared audio session. let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() // Find the built-in microphone input. guard let availableInputs = session.availableInputs, let builtInMicInput = availableInputs.first(where: { $0.portType == .builtInMic }) else { print("The device must have a built-in microphone.") return } // Make the built-in microphone input the preferred input. do { try session.setPreferredInput(builtInMicInput) } catch { print("Unable to set the built-in mic as the preferred input.") } } and calling that function once in the initializer, the audio session still switches to the external microphone once one is plugged in. The session's preferredInput is nil again at that point, even if the built-in microphone is still listed in availableInputs. So, why is the preferredInput suddenly reset? when would be the appropriate time to set the preferredInput again? Observing the session’s availableInputs did not work and setting the preferredInput again in the routeChangeNotification handler seems a bad choice as it’s already a bit too late then.
1
0
869
Oct ’25
How to inform Logic Pro that AU view does not have a fixed aspect ratio?
I have an AUv3 that passes all validation and can be loaded into Logic Pro without issue. The UI for the plug in can be any aspect ratio but Logic insists on presenting it in a view with a fixed aspect ratio. That is when resizing, both the height and width are resized. I have never managed to work out what it is I need to do specify to Logic to allow the user to resize width or height independently of each other. Can anyone tell me what I need to specify in the AU code that will inform Logic that the view can be resized from any side of the window/panel?
0
0
192
Apr ’25
Lightning to HDMI mirrors
I am developing a VOD playback app, but when I stream video to an external monitor connected via HDMI with Lightning on iOS 18 or later, the screen goes dark and I cannot confirm playback. The app I am developing does not detect the HDMI and display the Player separately, but simply mirrors the video. We have confirmed that the same phenomenon occurs with other services, but we were able to confirm playback with some services such as Apple TV. Please let us know if there are any other necessary settings such as video certificates required for video playback. We would also like to know if the problem occurs with iOS 18 or later.
0
0
282
Mar ’25
Accessory not supported by this device
Hi, I've had a new deck installed in my car for about 1.5 weeks. I'm having compatibility issues with my 15PM. It happens both wired and wirelessly, I get the error "Accessory not supported by this device". It used to happen all the time, now it's 50/50. Sometimes it works. I've removed and added Bluetooth multiple times on phone and deck, I bought a belkin usb-c to usb-a cable today and it seems to fix it but the problem comes back. I've changed the setting "FaceID and passcode-allow access when locked-accessories." The car stereo guy reckons it's definitely an issue with the phone not the deck, I'm inclined to believe him since the error states "by this device". Any advice appreciated.
0
0
220
Aug ’25
Frequent crashes related to com.apple.coreaudio.AQClient thread
I'm encountering numerous crashes involving the com.apple.coreaudio.AQClient thread on our application. The crash details are as follows: #10 com.apple.coreaudio.AQClient SIGSEGV SEGV_ACCERR 0 libobjc.A.dylib _objc_msgSend + 44 1 AudioToolbox ClientMessageHandler::PropertyChanged(unsigned int) + 872 2 AudioToolbox ClientAudioQueue::FetchAndDeliverPendingCallbacks(unsigned int) + 924 3 AudioToolbox __XCallbackNotificationsAvailable + 212 4 libAudioToolboxUtility.dylib _mshMIGPerform + 260 5 CoreFoundation ___CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE1_PERFORM_FUNCTION__ + 56 6 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopDoSource1 + 596 7 CoreFoundation ___CFRunLoopRun + 2392 8 CoreFoundation _CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 572 9 AudioToolbox CADeprecated::GenericRunLoopThread::Entry(void*) + 156 10 libAudioToolboxUtility.dylib CADeprecated::CAPThread::Entry(CADeprecated::CAPThread*) + 88 11 libsystem_pthread.dylib __pthread_start + 116 All these crashes occur on system versions below iOS/iPadOS 17, primarily when the device's available RAM is low. What steps can I take to resolve this issue? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
0
0
189
Nov ’25
Some questions about musickit
We are developing an apple music app on phone, the developed web works fine on chrome, but when i load it on webivew on my phone, i can't play the first song, We doubt that the drm init, key exchange, session creation was on the music.play() function, while we trigger the play, the drm or session was not ok for play a real song, so it got an error so we may wanna know: what about the realative process of drm, key, session, etc in the play() function? are there some state detect function to show weather the drm is ok?
1
0
146
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!
0
0
221
Jul ’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!
0
0
211
Jun ’25
Why Does WebView Audio Get Quiet During RTC Calls? (AVAudioSession Analysis)
I developed an educational app that implements audio-video communication through RTC, while using WebView to display course materials during classes. However, some users are experiencing an issue where the audio playback from WebView is very quiet. I've checked that the AVAudioSessionCategory is set by RTC to AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayAndRecord, and the AVAudioSessionCategoryOption also includes AVAudioSessionCategoryOptionMixWithOthers. What could be causing the WebView audio to be suppressed, and how can this be resolved?
0
0
556
Jul ’25
Unique identifier of a MIDI device
Hello, I need to know what is a unique identifier of a MIDI device (source/destination). Important note: I want to get the same ID when a device is reconnected (unplugged and then plugged again). The main candidate is kMIDIPropertyUniqueID property. But I don't know if it meets the requirement above or not. Additional question: is it always available for any endpoint? Also there is kMIDIPropertyDeviceID property. What about it? And one more option is just MIDIEndpointRef returned by MIDIGetSource or MIDIGetDestination. So what is the proper way to get ID which persists between device reconnections?
0
0
72
Jan ’26
Error -50 writing to AVAudioFile
I'm trying to write 16-bit interleaved 2-channel data captured from a LiveSwitch audio source to a AVAudioFile. The buffer and file formats match but I get a bad parameter error from the API. Does this API not support the specified format or is there some other issue? Here is the debugger output. (lldb) po audioFile.url ▿ file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/1EB14379-0CF2-41B6-B742-4C9A80728DB3/tmp/Heart%20Sounds%201 - _url : file:///private/var/mobile/Containers/Data/Application/1EB14379-0CF2-41B6-B742-4C9A80728DB3/tmp/Heart%20Sounds%201 - _parseInfo : nil - _baseParseInfo : nil (lldb) po error Error Domain=com.apple.coreaudio.avfaudio Code=-50 "(null)" UserInfo={failed call=ExtAudioFileWrite(_impl->_extAudioFile, buffer.frameLength, buffer.audioBufferList)} (lldb) po buffer.format <AVAudioFormat 0x302a12b20: 2 ch, 44100 Hz, Int16, interleaved> (lldb) po audioFile.fileFormat <AVAudioFormat 0x302a515e0: 2 ch, 44100 Hz, Int16, interleaved> (lldb) po buffer.frameLength 882 (lldb) po buffer.audioBufferList ▿ 0x0000000300941e60 - pointerValue : 12894608992 This code handles the details of converting the Live Switch frame into an AVAudioPCMBuffer. extension FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame { func convertedToPCMBuffer() -> AVAudioPCMBuffer { Self.convertToAVAudioPCMBuffer(from: self)! } static func convertToAVAudioPCMBuffer(from frame: FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame) -> AVAudioPCMBuffer? { // Retrieve the audio buffer and format details from the FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame guard let buffer = frame.buffer(), let format = buffer.format() as? FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat else { return nil } // Extract PCM format details from FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat let sampleRate = Double(format.clockRate()) let channelCount = AVAudioChannelCount(format.channelCount()) // Determine bytes per sample based on bit depth let bitsPerSample = 16 let bytesPerSample = bitsPerSample / 8 let bytesPerFrame = bytesPerSample * Int(channelCount) let frameLength = AVAudioFrameCount(Int(buffer.dataBuffer().length()) / bytesPerFrame) // Create an AVAudioFormat from the FMLiveSwitchAudioFormat guard let avAudioFormat = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: sampleRate, channels: channelCount, interleaved: true) else { return nil } // Create an AudioBufferList to wrap the existing buffer let audioBufferList = UnsafeMutablePointer<AudioBufferList>.allocate(capacity: 1) audioBufferList.pointee.mNumberBuffers = 1 audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mNumberChannels = channelCount audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mDataByteSize = UInt32(buffer.dataBuffer().length()) audioBufferList.pointee.mBuffers.mData = buffer.dataBuffer().data().mutableBytes // Directly use LiveSwitch buffer // Transfer ownership of the buffer to AVAudioPCMBuffer let pcmBuffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: avAudioFormat, bufferListNoCopy: audioBufferList) /* { buffer in // Ensure the buffer is freed when AVAudioPCMBuffer is deallocated buffer.deallocate() // Only call this if LiveSwitch allows manual deallocation } */ pcmBuffer?.frameLength = frameLength return pcmBuffer } } This is the handler that is invoked with every frame in order to convert it for use with AVAudioFile and optionally update a scrolling signal display on the screen. private func onRaisedFrame(obj: Any!) -> Void { // Bail out early if no one is interested in the data. guard isMonitoring else { return } // Convert LS frame to AVAudioPCMBuffer (no-copy) let frame = obj as! FMLiveSwitchAudioFrame let buffer = frame.convertedToPCMBuffer() // Hand subscribers a reference to the buffer for rendering to display. bufferPublisher?.send(buffer) // If we have and output file, store the data there, as well. guard let audioFile = self.audioFile else { return } do { try audioFile.write(from: buffer) // FIXME: This call is throwing error -50 } catch { FMLiveSwitchLog.error(withMessage: "Failed to write buffer to audio file at \(audioFile.url): \(error)") self.audioFile = nil } } This is how the audio file is being setup. static var recordingFormat: AVAudioFormat = { AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: 44_100, channels: 2, interleaved: true)! }() let audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forWriting: outputURL, settings: Self.recordingFormat.settings)
0
0
453
Mar ’25
How to mark Audio Unit as dirty (needing to be saved)
I'm working on a v2 Audio Unit that has some complicated internal state (audio, midi, other settings). When the internal state changes, I want to inform the host (f.i. Logic Pro) that my plugin state has changed, and that the main window should show the 'project changed' status through the window close button. This was easy to achieve for the VST version of the plugin, but I can't figure out a way to do it for the Audio Unit. I've tried: Notifying change of the kAudioUnitProperty_ClassInfo property that stores the plugin state: unit->PropertyChanged(kAudioUnitProperty_ClassInfo, kAudioUnitScope_Global, 0); Setting the kAudioUnitProperty_ClassInfo property value each time the plugin state changes. Adding a new parameter called 'dirtystate' and toggling it and notifying the change each time the plugin state changes. But nothing really make Logic take notice. This should be an easy task, but I can't put my finger on it. How do I flag may AUv2 as needing its status saved (i.e. the host project needs saving)?
0
0
149
Jan ’26
AudioUnit (AUv2) Session Compatibility After Adding MIDI Support
Hi there! We have a suite of AudioUnit v2 plugins that have been shipped for some time as aufx plugins, and we are looking into MIDI-related platform upgrades, so we need a way to update these plugins to request MIDI from Logic (and other AU hosts) but avoid changing our AU type and subtype so we don't break existing sessions. Any ideas on how we can do this?
1
0
116
Mar ’25