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

AVAudioSession automatically sets the tablet audio volume to 50% when recording audio.
Environment→ ・Device: iPad 10th generation ・OS:**iOS18.3.2 I'm using AVAudioSession to record sound in my application. But I recently came to realize that when the app starts a recording session on a tablet, OS automatically sets the tablet volume to 50% and when after recording ends, it doesn't change back to the previous volume level before starting the recording. So I would like to know whether this is an OS default behavior or a bug? If it's a default behavior, I much appreciate if I can get a link to the documentation.
0
0
117
Apr ’25
Changing instrument with AVMIDIControlChangeEvent bankSelect
I've been trying to use AVMIDIControlChangeEvent with a bankSelect message type to change the instrument the sequencer uses on a AVMusicTrack with no luck. I started with the Apple AVAEMixerSample, converting the initial setup/loading and portions dealing with the sequencer to Swift. I got that working and playing the "bluesyRiff" and then modified it to play individual notes. So my createAndSetupSequencer looked like func createAndSetupSequencer() { sequencer = AVAudioSequencer(audioEngine: engine) // guard let midiFileURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "bluesyRiff", withExtension: "mid") else { // print (" failed guard trying to get URL for bluesyRiff") // return // } let track = sequencer.createAndAppendTrack() var currTime = 1.0 for i: UInt32 in 0...8 { let newNoteEvent = AVMIDINoteEvent(channel: 0, key: 60+i, velocity: 64, duration: 2.0) track.addEvent(newNoteEvent, at: AVMusicTimeStamp(currTime)) currTime += 2.0 } The notes played, so then I also replaced the gs_instruments sound bank with GeneralUser GS MuseScore v1.442 first by trying guard let soundBankURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: "GeneralUser GS MuseScore v1.442", withExtension: "sf2") else { return} do { try sampler.loadSoundBankInstrument(at: soundBankURL, program: 0x001C, bankMSB: 0x79, bankLSB: 0x08) } catch{.... } This appears to work, the instrument (8 which is "Funk Guitar") plays. If I change to bankLSB: 0x00 I get the "Palm Muted guitar". So I know that the soundfont has these instruments Stuff goes off the rails when I try to change the instruments in createAndSetupSequencer. Putting let programChange = AVMIDIProgramChangeEvent(channel: 0, programNumber: 0x001C) let bankChange = AVMIDIControlChangeEvent(channel: 0, messageType: AVMIDIControlChangeEvent.MessageType.bankSelect, value: 0x00) track.addEvent(programChange, at: AVMusicTimeStamp(1.0)) track.addEvent(bankChange, at: AVMusicTimeStamp(1.0)) just before my add note loop doesn't produce any change. Loading bankLSB 8 (Funk) in sampler.loadSoundBankInstrument and trying to change with bankSelect 0 (Palm muted) in createAndSetupSequencer results in instrument 8 (Funk) playing not Palm Muted. Loading bankLSB 0 (Palm muted) and trying to change with bankSelect 8 (Funk) doesn't work, 0 (Palm muted) plays I also tried sampler.loadInstrument(at: soundBankURL) and then I always get the first instrument in the sound font file (piano)no matter what values I put in my programChange/bankChange I've also changed the time in the track.addEvent to be 0, 1.0, 3.0 etc to no success The sampler.loadSoundBankInstrument specifies two UInt8 parameters, bankMSB and BankLSB while the AVMIDIControlChangeEvent bankSelect value is UInt32 suggesting it might be some combination of bankMSB and BankLSB. But the documentation makes no mention of what this should look like. I tried various combinations of 0x7908, 0X0879 etc to no avail I will also point out that I am able to successfully execute other control change events For example adding if i == 1 { let portamentoOnEvent = AVMIDIControlChangeEvent(channel: 0, messageType: AVMIDIControlChangeEvent.MessageType.portamento, value: 0xFF) track.addEvent(portamentoOnEvent, at: AVMusicTimeStamp(currTime)) let portamentoRateEvent = AVMIDIControlChangeEvent(channel: 0, messageType: AVMIDIControlChangeEvent.MessageType.portamentoTime, value: 64) track.addEvent(portamentoRateEvent, at: AVMusicTimeStamp(currTime)) } does produce a change in the sound. (As an aside, a definition of what portamento time is, other than "the rate of portamento" would be welcome. is it notes/seconds? freq/minute? beats/hour?) I was able to get the instrument to change in a different program using MusicPlayer and a series of MusicTrackNewMIDIChannelEvent on a track but these operate on a MusicTrack not the AVMusicTrack which the sequencer uses. Has anyone been successful in switching instruments through an AVMIDIControlChangeEvent or have any feedback on how to do this?
0
0
366
Mar ’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
134
Apr ’25
Mac Catalyst: AUv3 Extension no longer works on MacOS, still works on iOS
I have a Catalyst app ('container') which hosts an embedded AUv3 Audio Unit extension ('plugin'). This used to work for years and has worked with this project until a few days ago. it still works on iOS as expected on MacOS the extension is never registered/installed and won't load extension won't show up with AUVal seems to have stopped working with the 26.1 XCode update I'm fairly certain the problem is not code related (i.e. likely build settings, project settings, entitlements, signing, etc.) I have compared all settings with another still-working project and can't find any meaningful difference (I can't request code-level support because even the minimal thing vastly exceeds the 250 lines of code limit.) How can I debug the issue? I literally don't know where to start to fix this problem, short of rebuilding the entire thing and hope that it magically starts working again.
0
0
166
Nov ’25
Best Approach for Reliable Background Audio Playback with Audio Ducking on Command from Server
I am developing an iOS app that needs to play spoken audio on demand from a server, while ducking the audio of background music from another app (e.g., SoundtrackYourBrand or Apple Music). This must work even when the app is in the background, and the server dictates when and what audio is played. Ideally, the message should be played within a minute of the server requesting it. Current Attempt & Observations I initially tried using Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) silent notifications to send a URL to an audio file, which the app would then play using AVPlayer. This works consistently when the app is active, but in the background, it only works about 60% of the time. In cases where it fails, iOS ducks the background music (e.g., from SoundtrackYourBrand) but never plays the spoken audio. Interestingly, when I play the audio without enabling audio ducking, it seems to work 100% of the time from my limited testing, even in the background. The app has background modes enabled for Audio, Background Fetch, and Remote Notifications. Best Approach to Achieve This? I’d like guidance on the best Apple-compliant approach to reliably play audio on command from the server, even when the app is in the background. Some possible paths: Ensuring the app remains active in the background – Are there recommended ways to prevent the app from getting suspended, such as background tasks, a special background mode, or a persistent connection to the server? Alternative triggering mechanisms – Would something like VoIP, Push-to-Talk, or another background service be better suited for this use case? Built-in iOS speech synthesis (AVSpeechSynthesizer) – If playing external audio is unreliable, would generating speech dynamically from text be a more robust approach? Streaming audio instead of sending a URL – Could continuous streaming from the server keep the app active and allow playback at the right moment? I want to ensure the solution is reliable and works 100% of the time when needed. Any recommendations on the best approach for this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time and guidance.
0
1
401
Feb ’25
Number of songs in the Apple Music Feed
Hello, I'm evaluating the Apple Music Feed dataset and I noticed that the total number of songs available in the feed is too small. As of today, the number of objects returned in each feed is: 51,198,712 albums 23,093,698 artists 173,235,315 songs This gives an average of 3.38 songs per album which is quite low. Also, iterating on the data I see that there are albums referencing songs that don't exist in the songs feed. I would like to know: Is the feed data incomplete? If so, in what situations an object may be missing from the feed? Thank you in advance!
0
0
264
Aug ’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
121
1w
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 :)
0
0
282
Mar ’25
tvOS AVQueuePlayer Now Playing Info in Control Center?
I have a music app I'm developing and having a weird issue where I can see now playing info for every other platform than tvOS. As far as I can tell I have correctly configured the MPNowPlayingInfoCenter MPNowPlayingInfoCenter.default().nowPlayingInfo = nowPlayingInfo MPNowPlayingInfoCenter.default().playbackState = .playing Are there any extra requirements to get my app's now-playing info showing in control center on tvOS? Another strange issue that might be related is I can use the apple TV remote to pause audio but not resume playback, so I feel like there's something I'm missing about registering audio playback on tvOS specifically.
0
0
100
Jun ’25
Essentials of macOS to read and write mp3 and mp4 audio files
Hi, On macOS I used to open MP3 and MP4 files with ExtAudioFile. For a few years it doesn't work anymore. So I decided to try different macOS API using the AudioFileID of AudioToolbox framework. I decided to write a test: https://gist.github.com/joelkraehemann/7f5b241b52ca38c3a765c138fb647588 It fails right here: AudioFileOpenWithCallbacks() By telling OSStatus error 1954115647, which means kAudioFileUnsupportedFileTypeError. The filename was set to an MP4 file: ~/Music/test.mp4 Howto fix this? regards, Joël
1
0
214
Jun ’25
Why personal music recommendations contain no more than 12 item?
Hi! I get personal recommendations MusicItemCollection using this code: func getRecommendations() async throws -> MusicItemCollection<MusicPersonalRecommendation> { let request = MusicPersonalRecommendationsRequest() let response = try await request.response() let recommendations = response.recommendations return recommendations } However, all recommendations contain no more than 12 MusicItem's, while the Music.app application provides much more for some recommendations, for example, for the You recently listened recommendation, the Music.app application displays 40 items. Each recommendation has an items property that contains a collection of musical items MusicItemCollection<MusicPersonalRecommendation.Item>, the hasNextBatch property for these collections is always false. I expected that for some collections loading of new items would be available. Please tell me if I'm doing something wrong or is this a MusicKit bug? Thank you!
1
0
479
Feb ’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
1
0
257
Mar ’25
Play Audio for a Metronome
Hi, I am looking for a good way to play sounds at a high frequency. At the moment I am using the AVAudioEngine, and create a couple AVAudioPlayerNode and for each sound I need to play I create a AVAudioPCMBuffer. When the app needs to play a sound, I get the correct AVAudioPCMBuffer for the sound and use the first available AVAudioPlayerNode and feed it to the buffer. The timing for a metronome app has to be very precise because if it's of by about 16ms the user can hear that it is not playing had the right interval. For low speeds this is working without any problems, but at high speeds it is getting worse. Maybe anyone has an idea on how I can improve my method. Its a Plugin for Flutter. import AVFoundation class FastSoundPlayer { private var audioPlayers: [SoundPlayer?] = [] private var sounds: [String: Sound] = [:] private var engine = AVAudioEngine() let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() init() { do { try session.setCategory(AVAudioSession.Category.playback, mode: AVAudioSession.Mode.default, options: [AVAudioSession.CategoryOptions.mixWithOthers]) try session.setActive(true) createSoundPlayers(count: 20) try engine.start() } catch { print("Error starting audio engine: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } // Selector method to handle applicationDidBecomeActiveNotification func applicationDidBecomeActive() { // Reinitialize AVAudioEngine and reattach all nodes do { engine.reset() objc_sync_enter(audioPlayers) audioPlayers.removeAll() createSoundPlayers(count: 20) objc_sync_exit(audioPlayers) try engine.start() } catch { print("Error starting audio engine: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } func createSoundPlayers(count: Int) { for _ in 0..<count { let player = SoundPlayer() engine.attach(player.player) engine.connect(player.player, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: nil) audioPlayers.append(player) } } func load(sound: Data, name: String) { let sound = Sound(soundData: sound) sounds[name] = sound } func play(name: String) { if !engine.isRunning { applicationDidBecomeActive() } guard let sound = sounds[name] else { print("Sound not found") return } if let player = getAvailablePlayer() { player.play(sound: sound) } } func getAvailablePlayer() -> SoundPlayer? { for player in audioPlayers { if !player!.isPlaying { return player } } return nil } } class SoundPlayer { let player = AVAudioPlayerNode() var isPlaying = false init() { player.volume = 1.0 } func play(sound: Sound) { player.scheduleBuffer(sound.sound!, at: nil, options: .interrupts, completionCallbackType: .dataPlayedBack) { _ in self.complete() } if (player.engine != nil && player.engine!.isRunning) { player.play() isPlaying = true } } func complete() { isPlaying = false } } class Sound { var sound: AVAudioPCMBuffer? init(soundData: Data) { do { let temporaryURL = FileManager.default.temporaryDirectory.appendingPathComponent("tempSound.wav") try soundData.write(to: temporaryURL) // Create AVAudioFile from the temporary file URL let audioFile = try AVAudioFile(forReading: temporaryURL) // Define the format for the PCM buffer (44100Hz, stereo) let format = AVAudioFormat(commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: 44100, channels: 2, interleaved: false) // Create AVAudioPCMBuffer guard let pcmBuffer = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: format!, frameCapacity: AVAudioFrameCount(audioFile.length)) else { // Failed to create PCM buffer self.sound = nil return } // Read audio file into PCM buffer try audioFile.read(into: pcmBuffer) // Assign the created AVAudioPCMBuffer to the sound property self.sound = pcmBuffer } catch { print("Error loading sound file: \(error.localizedDescription)") self.sound = nil } } } Thanks!
1
0
183
Mar ’25
Help for a plugin audio unit
Hello All, It seems that it's "very easy" (😬) to implement a little Swift code inside the prepared AU using Xcode 16.2 on Sequoia 15.1.1 and a Mac Studio M1 Ultra, but my issue is that I finally don't know... where. The documentation says that I've to find the AudioUnitViewController.swift file and then modify the render block : audioUnit.renderBlock = { (numFrames, ioData) in // Process audio here } in the Xcode project automatically generated, but I didn't find such a file... If somebody can help me in showing where is the file to be modified, I'll be very grateful ! Thank you very much. J
1
0
457
Feb ’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.
1
0
121
Jun ’25
Hybrid Wired-to-Wireless Audio Mode Using AirPods Charging Case
Many Apple users own both Bluetooth earphones (AirPods) and traditional wired earphones. While Bluetooth audio provides freedom of movement, some users still prefer wired earphones for comfort, sound profile, or personal preference. However, plugging wired earphones directly into an iPhone can feel restrictive and inconvenient during daily use. This proposal suggests a hybrid audio approach where wired earphones can be connected to a Bluetooth-enabled AirPods charging case (or a similar Apple-designed module), allowing users to enjoy wired earphones without a physical connection to the iPhone. #Problem Statement *Wired earphones offer consistent audio quality and zero latency *Bluetooth earphones provide freedom from cables *Users must currently choose one or the other *Plugging wired earphones into an iPhone limits movement and can feel intrusive in daily scenarios (walking, commuting, working) There is no native Apple solution that allows wired earphones to function wirelessly while maintaining Apple’s audio experience standards. #Proposed Solution Introduce a Wired-to-Wireless Audio Mode through the AirPods charging case or a dedicated Apple Bluetooth audio bridge. How it works: User plugs wired earphones into the AirPods case (or a future AirPods accessory port) The case acts as a Bluetooth audio transmitter Audio is streamed wirelessly from iPhone to the case The case outputs audio to the wired earphones #User experiences: No cable connected to the iPhone Familiar wired earphone sound Freedom of movement similar to Bluetooth earbuds User Experience (UX Flow) Plug wired earphones into the AirPods case iPhone automatically detects: “Wired Earphones via AirPods Case” Seamless pairing using existing AirPods framework Audio controls, volume, and switching handled through iOS No additional apps required #Key Benefits Combines wired sound reliability with wireless convenience Reduces physical cable disturbance during use Extends usefulness of existing wired earphones Minimal learning curve for users Fits naturally into Apple’s ecosystem and design philosophy #Privacy & Performance Considerations On-device audio processing only No cloud involvement Low-latency audio using Apple’s proprietary Bluetooth codecs Power-efficient usage leveraging AirPods case battery #Target Users Users who prefer wired earphones but want wireless freedom Commuters and walkers Developers and professionals who multitask Users sensitive to Bluetooth earbud fit or comfort #Ecosystem Fit Builds on existing AirPods pairing and audio stack Aligns with Apple’s focus on seamless UX Could be implemented via: New AirPods hardware Firmware update + accessory Dedicated Apple audio bridge
1
0
273
2w