I’m working with the Push-to-Talk (PTT) framework and observing a consistent delay when starting audio capture.
Scenario:
A PTT call is already active
The AVAudioSession is fully configured
I request beginTransmission on the PTT channel
I start my Audio Unit for recording (AudioOutputUnitStart)
Observed behavior:
AudioOutputUnitStart takes ~500 ms
This happens whether I start the Audio Unit:
after didBeginTransmission, or
after AVAudioSession didActivate
Comparison:
Using the same Audio Unit, same format, and same configuration
Without the PTT framework, AudioOutputUnitStart takes ~200 ms
Additional notes:
I am not modifying or reconfiguring AVAudioSession when requesting beginTransmission
The audio session is already set up when the PTT call starts
There are no interruptions or route changes at the time of starting the Audio Unit
Impact:
This extra latency is significant for Push-to-Talk use cases where fast transmit
start is critical.
Audio
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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)?
My app - natively iOS but built with the "Designed for iPad" option to run on Mac - does not recognise an attached USB microphone when running on a Mac. This line
int32_t items = (int32_t) [[[AVAudioSession sharedInstance] availableInputs] count ];
returns 1, which is the Mac internal mic. On iPad and iPhone it sees both the internal mic and the USB mic. Is this an inherent "Designed for iPad" restriction, and is there some trick I can pull to get the USB microphone to be recognised by the system?
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I have a new 2725QC (Dell) Monitor that uses USB-C connection to connect with the iMac (2019, 27 inch) through the back port but the problem is that the volume control can currently only be done from the hardware, not the software control using the Apple keyboard. What should I do in terms of writing code to do this (Swift or Obj-C)? Is there a third-party solution for Intel iMac and ARM Mac?
I neet to take pcm data from aac data, but this api has fossy me deeply.
I am a graduate student conducting research in speech/audio signal processing and multimodal interaction.
Apple Vision Pro is widely recognized as a multimodal interactive system supporting voice, eye, and gesture inputs. However, I could not find detailed specifications or documentation about the audio input sampling rate used by the device’s built-in microphone array when capturing user audio.
Specifically, I would like to understand:
What is the default audio input sampling rate (e.g., 16 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, etc.) for the Vision Pro’s microphones?
When developing with visionOS / AVAudioSession / AVAudioEngine, is there a documented or recommended sampling rate for audio capture?
Are there any best practices or settings for enabling high-quality voice capture on Vision Pro (especially for voice research tasks)?
For context, my work involves voice processing, analysis, and possibly on-device real-time speech recognition. Any pointers to relevant APIs, documentation or examples (especially regarding audio capture buffer size or available formats on visionOS) would be very helpful.
Thank you in advance!
Best regards.
I’m seeing what appears to be an iOS audio-session issue that occurs only when a phone call happens while the app is in the background.
API: AVAudioSession, AVAudioRecorder
Background Modes: Audio enabled (UIBackgroundModes = audio)
Category: .playAndRecord
Microphone permission: granted
Expected Behavior
If the app is recording audio in the background and a phone call interrupts it:
AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.began) fires
Call ends
AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.ended) fires
App should be able to re-activate its audio session and resume or restart recording
Apple documentation suggests this should be supported for background audio apps.
Actual Behavior
When the app is in the background and phone call is ended:
AVAudioSession.interruptionNotification(.ended) does fire
Attempting to reactivate the audio session always fails:
Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain
Code=560557684 ("!int")
"Session activation failed"
The session appears to remain permanently “interrupted”
Retrying activation (with delays) does not help
Recreating AVAudioRecorder does not help
Reactivation works only after the app is opened again
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.
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!
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
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
Hello,
I am building an iOS-only, commercial app that uses AVSpeechSynthesizer with system voices, strictly using the APIs provided by Apple. Before distributing the app, I want to ensure that my current implementation does not conflict with the iOS Software License Agreement (SLA) and is aligned with Apple’s intended usage.
For a better playback experience (more accurate estimation of utterance duration and smoother skip forward/backward during playback), I currently synthesize speech using:
AVSpeechSynthesizer.write(_:toBufferCallback:)
Converting the received AVAudioPCMBuffer buffers into audio data
Storing the audio inside the app sandbox
Playing it back using AVAudioPlayer / AVAudioEngine
The cached audio is:
Generated fully on-device using system voices
Stored only inside the app’s private container
Used only for internal playback controls (timeline, seek, skip ±5 seconds)
Never shared, exported, uploaded, or exposed outside the app
The alternative approaches would be:
Keeping the generated audio entirely in memory (RAM) for playback purposes, without writing it to the file system at any point
Or using AVSpeechSynthesizer.speak(_:) and playing speech strictly in real time which has a poorer user experience compared to my approach
I have reviewed the current iOS Software License Agreement:
https://www.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iOS18_iPadOS18.pdf
In particular, section (f) mentions restrictions around System Characters, Live Captions, and Personal Voice, including the following excerpt:
“…use … only for your personal, non-commercial use…
No other creation or use of the System Characters, Live Captions, or Personal Voice is permitted by this License, including but not limited to the use, reproduction, display, performance, recording, publishing or redistribution in a … commercial context.”
I do not see a specific reference in the SLA to system text-to-speech voices used via AVSpeechSynthesizer, and I want to be certain that temporarily caching synthesized speech for internal, non-exported playback is acceptable in a commercial app.
My question is:
Is caching AVSpeechSynthesizer system-voice output inside the app sandbox for internal playback acceptable, or is Apple’s recommended approach to rely only on real-time playback (speak(_:)) or strictly in-memory buffering without file storage?
If this question falls outside DTS technical scope and is instead a policy or licensing matter, I would appreciate guidance on the authoritative Apple documentation or the correct Apple team/contact.
Thank you.
Hello everyone,
I've written an audio unit plugin that needs to be aware of any upstream latency caused by heavy plugins before it on the channel. Is there any way to query this? I know that Logic applies PDC at the channel's output (summing point), but I need to know what the accumulated latency is at the point the audio enters my plugin. Thanks!
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
Thread 5 Crashed:
0 libobjc.A.dylib 0x19af7b038 objc_msgSend + 56
1 CoreFoundation 0x19dfdb618 cow_cleanup + 135
2 CoreFoundation 0x19dfdb6fc -[__NSDictionaryM dealloc] + 147
3 MediaToolbox 0x1b167636c FigRemotePropertyCacheTeardown + 31
4 MediaToolbox 0x1b1c5b648 remoteXPCAsset_Finalize + 107
5 CoreMedia 0x1b1e9166c FigBaseObjectFinalize + 275
6 CoreFoundation 0x19dfcc5ec _CFRelease + 295
7 AVFCore 0x1b1054d64 -[AVFigAssetTrackInspector dealloc] + 151
8 AVFCore 0x1b0f818d8 -[AVAssetTrack dealloc] + 63
9 CoreFoundation 0x19dfdba28 RELEASE_OBJECTS_IN_THE_ARRAY + 115
10 CoreFoundation 0x19dfdb7e0 -[__NSArrayM dealloc] + 147
11 AVFCore 0x1b0f52e04 -[AVURLAsset dealloc] + 167
12 libobjc.A.dylib 0x19af821f8 object_cxxDestructFromClass(objc_object*, objc_class*) + 115
13 libobjc.A.dylib 0x19af7df20 objc_destructInstance_nonnull_realized(objc_object*) + 75
14 libobjc.A.dylib 0x19af7d4a4 _objc_rootDealloc + 71
15 AVFCore 0x1b0fef988 -[AVAssetReaderOutput dealloc] + 415
16 AVFCore 0x1b0ff11ec -[AVAssetReaderTrackOutput dealloc] + 127
17 CoreFoundation 0x19dfe20a4 -[__NSSingleObjectArrayI dealloc] + 63
18 libobjc.A.dylib 0x19af7d3f8 AutoreleasePoolPage::releaseUntil(objc_object**) + 203
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
I’m facing a strange audio routing issue that seems specific to iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max.
I’m using LiveKit (WebRTC) in a React Native app, which uses AVAudioSession internally for audio capture (VoIP / call-style usage).
🔍 What’s happening:
I’m using an external USB microphone.
On these devices:
iPhone 11 → ✅ USB mic works
iPhone 13 → ✅ USB mic works
iPhone 17 Pro → ✅ USB mic works
iPhone 14 Pro Max → ❌ USB mic does NOT work
On iPhone 14 Pro Max:
The same USB mic:
✅ Works in Voice Memos
✅ Works in Instagram Live
❌ Does NOT appear as an input option in my app
❌ Does NOT work in WhatsApp / Instagram calls
Also:
In my app on iPhone 14 Pro Max, iOS does not show the audio input selector UI
On iPhone 17 Pro, the same app and same build does show the selector and the USB mic works
⚙️ My audio session config ( LiveKit ):
await AudioSession.setAppleAudioConfiguration({
audioCategory: 'playAndRecord',
audioMode: 'default',
audioCategoryOptions: ['allowBluetooth', 'defaultToSpeaker'],
});
await AudioSession.startAudioSession();
❓ My questions:
Is this a known limitation or behavior specific to iPhone 14 Pro / Pro Max?
Does iPhone 14 Pro have different audio routing rules for call / VoIP mode compared to other devices?
Why does the same USB mic work in recording apps (Voice Memos, Instagram Live) but not in call-style apps (LiveKit, WhatsApp, Instagram call)?
Is there any documented difference in AVAudioSession behavior on iPhone 14 Pro regarding external USB audio inputs?
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?
Hi,
I'm currently developping an AVB hardware device, and I'm currently stuck because because the apple AVB stack is throwing me errors without much informations.
Is there any way to have more information about these assertions and why they are happening ?
Furtermore is there any documentation on theAppleAVBAudio module ? It would be very handy
Here are the logs shown in the console:
Filtering the log data using "process == "coreaudiod""
Timestamp Thread Type Activity PID TTL
2025-12-05 15:44:27.087043+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.087545+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.088043+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.088546+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.089043+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.089545+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.090043+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.090545+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.091043+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.091545+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.092044+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.092544+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.093044+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.093552+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.094050+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
2025-12-05 15:44:27.094543+0100 0x15ae74 Default 0x0 12965 0 coreaudiod: (AppleAVBAudio) Assert: <private> (value 0x0 0), <private> file: <private>, line: 1533
I've filed this as FB21446798 but figured I'd post here too.
In the first build of macOS 26.3, playback via ApplicationMusicPlayer is completely broken. When starting playback of anything at all, the console shows the following error:
applicationController: xpc service connection interrupted
Failed to obtain remoteObject: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated from this process." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated from this process.}
Failed to prepareToPlay with error: Error Domain=MPMusicPlayerControllerErrorDomain Code=10 "(null)" UserInfo={NSUnderlyingError=0xc92910ff0 {Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4099 "The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated from this process." UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=The connection to service created from an endpoint was invalidated from this process.}}}
In addition, several crash logs for RemotePlayerService are generated, showing my app as the parent process.
This issue is 100% repeatable. No matter how I load the queue, whether it’s catalog or library content, any variation I can think of all fails like this.
I really hope this can be fixed before 26.3 comes out, otherwise my app will be totally unusable. 😅
Recently, after the update of 26.3 Mac OS (Tahoe), the ordering of my music app has been horrible at best - music disappearing, tracks not aligning with albums (even if the albums are different years).
It's created quite a problem, because the disappearing tracks issue seems to be replicating to iOS devices as well (although track numbering and album association seem to be stable). Has anyone else heard of this issue?
Topic:
Media Technologies
SubTopic:
Audio
Currently, I have successfully used ChannelMap to map hardware input channels and obtained audio data from the hardware device's MIC and OTG inputs. Additionally, I have used ChannelMap to map output channels to freely feed data for playback to each output channel. However, I now have a problem.
I have a hardware device that only has output channels (no input channels), and the system has set this hardware device as the default playback device. In this case, how can I obtain the audio data being played to the output channels for modification?
I'm seeing crashes in _MPRemoteCommandEventDispatch on iOS 26.x devices in 3 apps. According to Bugsnag logs they are:
NSInternalInconsistencyException: event dispatch <_MPRemoteCommandEventDispatch: <MPRemoteCommandEvent: 0x11c049500 commandID=THV0 command=<MPRemoteCommand: 0x109ad1ea0 type=Play (0) enabled=YES handlers=[0x109b6a310]> sourceID=(null) ([HostedRoutingSessionDataSource] handleControlSendingCommand<2W5E>)> state:201> deallocated without calling continuation
I attached a log from Xcode organizer matching Bugsnag crash.
mpr_remote_command_event.crash
When I set the brakpoint on the -[_MPRemoteCommandEventDispatch dealloc] I can see it it's hit every time I tap play or pause on locked screen play button.
Thread 0 Crashed:
0 libsystem_kernel.dylib 0x00000002370420cc __pthread_kill + 8 (:-1)
1 libsystem_pthread.dylib 0x00000001e975c810 pthread_kill + 268 (pthread.c:1721)
2 libsystem_c.dylib 0x0000000198f8ff64 abort + 124 (abort.c:122)
3 libc++abi.dylib 0x000000018a7cf808 __abort_message + 132 (abort_message.cpp:66)
4 libc++abi.dylib 0x000000018a7be484 demangling_terminate_handler() + 304 (cxa_default_handlers.cpp:76)
5 libobjc.A.dylib 0x000000018a6cff78 _objc_terminate() + 156 (objc-exception.mm:496)
6 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 0x00000001003a7db8 CPPExceptionTerminate() + 416 (BSG_KSCrashSentry_CPPException.mm:156)
7 libc++abi.dylib 0x000000018a7cebdc std::__terminate(void (*)()) + 16 (cxa_handlers.cpp:59)
8 libc++abi.dylib 0x000000018a7ceb80 std::terminate() + 108 (cxa_handlers.cpp:88)
9 CoreFoundation 0x000000018d7341c4 __CFRunLoopPerCalloutARPEnd + 256 (CFRunLoop.c:769)
10 CoreFoundation 0x000000018d70bb5c __CFRunLoopRun + 1976 (CFRunLoop.c:3179)
11 CoreFoundation 0x000000018d70aa6c _CFRunLoopRunSpecificWithOptions + 532 (CFRunLoop.c:3462)
12 GraphicsServices 0x000000022e31c498 GSEventRunModal + 120 (GSEvent.c:2049)
13 UIKitCore 0x00000001930ceba4 -[UIApplication _run] + 792 (UIApplication.m:3902)
14 UIKitCore 0x0000000193077a78 UIApplicationMain + 336 (UIApplication.m:5577)
15 xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 0x00000001000c0134 main + 308 (main.swift:15)
16 dyld 0x000000018a722e28 start + 7116 (dyldMain.cpp:1477)
Is the crash happening when the app is being terminated?
Thank you!