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

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About the built-in instrument sound of Apple devices
Does anyone know how to pronounce the sound of a specific instrument when you tap a button on the screen on your iPhone or iPad? Now, in the middle of creating a music learning app, I'm thinking of assigning monotones or chords to the button-like frames on the keyboard and fingerboard on the screen. Can it be achieved with SwiftUI chords alone? Once upon a time, MIDI level 1 I remember that there was a pronunciation function of the instrument, but I don't think about implementing the same function in the current OS. Please lend me your wisdom.
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59
May ’25
Photo permission dialog not shown when iOS app runs on Mac
According to the docs: The first time your app performs an operation that requires [photo library] authorization, the system automatically and asynchronously prompts the user for it. (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit/delivering-an-enhanced-privacy-experience-in-your-photos-app) I.e. it's not necessary for the app to call PHPhotoLibrary.requestAuthorization. This does seem to be what happens when my app runs on an iPhone or iPad; the prompt is shown. But when it runs on a Mac in "designed for iPad" mode, the permission dialog is not presented. Instead the code continues to see status == .notDetermined. That's today, on macOS 15.3. It may have worked in the past. Is anyone else seeing issues with this? Should I call requestAuthorization explicitly? (Would that actually work?)
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502
Mar ’25
iOS Camera access issues in Developer mode on real device - PermissionStatus.permanentlyDenied
Xcode Version 16.3 (16E140) App developed in Flutter Flutter 3.29.3 Test iPhone device: iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 18.5 I have an app that requires Camera access. This used to work before with iOS 18.4.x. I have dumbed down my app to just get Camera permission. Even then it fails flutter: Camera permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: Photos permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: Microphone permission: PermissionStatus.denied flutter: --- End Debug Info --- flutter: Loaded translations from asset for en_US container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled container_create_or_lookup_app_group_path_by_app_group_identifier: client is not entitled flutter: CAMERA PERMISSION STATUS: PermissionStatus.permanentlyDenied Camera permissions don't show up in my App settings or under "Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Camera" and I am at loss to understand why this is happening.
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167
May ’25
MusicKit - Skipping Forwards or Backwards does not update
Hello everyone, I am working on an app that allows you to review your own music using Apple Music. Currently I am running into an issue with the skipping forwards and backwards outside of the app. How it should work: When skipping forward or backwards on the lock or home screen of an iPhone, the next or previous song on an album should play and the information should change to reflect that in the app. If you play a song in Apple Music, you can see a Now Playing view in the lock screen. When you skip forward or backwards, it will do either action and it would reflect that when you see a little frequency icon on artwork image of a song. What it's doing: When skipping forward or backwards on the lock or home screen of an iPhone, the next or previous song is reflected outside of the app, but not in the app. When skipping a song outside of the app, it works correctly to head to the next song. But when I return to the app, it is not reflected NOTE: I am not using MusicKit variables such as Track, Album to display the songs. Since I want to grab the songs and review them I need a rating so I created my own that grabs the MusicItemID, name, artist(s), etc. NOTE: I am using ApplicationMusicPlayer.shared Is there a way to get the song to reflect in my app? (If its easier, a simple example of it would be nice. No need to create an entire xprod file)
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99
Apr ’25
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.
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120
Apr ’25
MusicKit: Best way to check if all tracks of albums are added to library.
I prefer to use the album fetched from the library instead of the catalog since this is faster. If doing so, how can I check if all tracks of an album are added to the library. In this case I'd like to fetch the catalog version or throw an error (for example when offline). Using .with(.tracks) on the library album fetches the tracks added to the library. The trackCount property is referring to the tracks that can be fetched from the library. The isComplete property is always nil when fetching from the library. One possible way is checking the trackNumber and discCount properties. However this only detects that not all tracks of an album are added to the library if there is a song not added ahead of one that is. I'd like to be able to handle this edge case as well. Is there currently a way to do this? I'd prefer to not rely on the apple music catalog for this since this is supposed to work offline as well. Fetching and storing all trackIDs when connected and later comparing against these would work, but this would potentially mean storing tens of thousands of track ids. Thank you
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100
Mar ’25
Capture session interrupted randomly
We are facing a strange issue where a small portion of our large userbase can not start the capture session in our app, as it gets interrupted with the following reason: AVCaptureSessionInterruptionReasonVideoDeviceNotAvailableWithMultipleForegroundApps Our users are all from iPhones, no one is using an iPad. Just to be sure we have set session.isMultitaskingCameraAccessEnabled = true but it does not seem to make any difference. Another weird scenario we are seeing on an even smaller number of users is that the following call: AVCaptureDevice.default(.builtInWideAngleCamera, for: .video, position: .back) returns nil. A quick look at our error reports show this happening on iPhone XR, 13 and 14 models. They should all support this device type. Any help on investigating these issue would be greatly appreciated!
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126
Jun ’25
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 :)
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300
Mar ’25
Issue: FPS Drops to 30 After Trimming Video in Photos App
Hi, I am recording a video at 240 FPS within my application and saving it to the Photos app. The recorded video retains 240 FPS in the Photos app. However, after trimming the video using the Photos app and importing it back into my app, the FPS is reduced to 30 FPS. Steps to Reproduce: Record a video inside the application at 240 FPS. Save the recorded video to the Photos app. Verify that the video retains 240 FPS in the Photos app. Trim the video using the built-in Photos app editor. Import the trimmed video back into the application. The FPS of the imported video is now reduced to 30 FPS. Code Used for Importing Video: I am using the following code to fetch the video from the Photos app: let options: PHVideoRequestOptions = PHVideoRequestOptions() options.version = .current // Using `.original` preserves FPS, but I need `.current` for other changes options.deliveryMode = .highQualityFormat options.isNetworkAccessAllowed = true PHImageManager.default().requestAVAsset(forVideo: self, options: options) { (avAsset, audioMix, info) in if let urlAsset = avAsset as? AVURLAsset { completionHandler(urlAsset.url, self) } else { self.askForOriginal(completionHandler: completionHandler) } } Observations: The original video retains 240 FPS until it is trimmed in the Photos app. After trimming, the FPS automatically drops to 30 FPS when imported back into the app. If I use options.version = .original, the FPS is preserved, but I need .current to apply other modifications. Questions: Is this an expected behavior of PHImageManager when requesting a video with options.version = .current? Is there a way to preserve the original FPS while still using .current? Are there any workarounds to extract the trimmed video without FPS reduction? Any insights or solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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377
Mar ’25
Inconsistent history responses in early morning polls
I use the Apple Music API to poll my listening history at regular intervals. Every morning between 5:30AM and 7:30AM, I observe a strange pattern in the API responses. During this window, one or more of the regular polling intervals returns a response that differs significantly from the prior history response, even though I had no listening activity at that time. I'm using this endpoint: https://api.music.apple.com/v1/me/recent/played/tracks?types=songs,library-songs&include[library-songs]=catalog&include[songs]=albums,artists Here’s a concrete example from this morning: Time: 5:45AM Fetch 1 Tracks (subset): 1799261990, 1739657416, 1786317143, 1784288789, 1743250261, 1738681804, 1789325498, 1743036755, ... Time: 5:50AM Fetch 2 Tracks (subset): 1799261990, 1739657416, 1786317143, 1623924746, 1635185172, 1574004238, 1198763630, 1621299055, ... Time: 5:55AM Fetch 3 Tracks (subset): 1799261990, 1739657416, 1786317143, 1784288789, 1743250261, 1738681804, 1789325498, 1743036755, ... At 5:50, a materially different history is returned, then it returns back to the prior history at the next poll. I've listened to all of the tracks in each set, but the 5:50 history drops some tracks and returns some from further back in history. I've connected other accounts and the behavior is consistent and repeatable every day across them. It appears the API is temporarily returning a different (possibly outdated or cached?) view of the user's history during that early morning window. Has anyone seen this behavior before? Is this a known issue with the Apple Music API or MusicKit backend? I'd love any insights into what might cause this, or recommendations on how to work around it.
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142
Apr ’25
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)
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453
Mar ’25
Can a Location-Based Audio AR Experience Run in the Background on iOS?
Hi everyone! I’ve developed a location-based Audio AR app in Unity with FMOD &amp; Resonance Audio and AirPods Pro Head-Tracking to create a ubiquitous augmented soundscape experience. Think of it as an audio version of Pokémon Go, but with a more precise location requirement to ensure spatial audio is placed correctly. I want this experience to run in the background on iOS, but from what I’ve gathered, it seems Unity doesn’t support this well. So, I’m considering developing a Swift version instead. Since this is primarily for research purposes, privacy concerns are not a major issue in my case. However, I’ve come across some potential challenges: Real-time precise location updates – Can iOS provide fully instantaneous, high-accuracy location updates in the background? Continuous real-time data processing – Can an app continuously process spatial audio, head-tracking, and location data while running in the background? I’m not sure if newer iOS versions have improved in these areas or if there are workarounds to achieve this. Would this kind of experience be feasible to run in the background on iOS? Any insights or pointers would be greatly appreciated! I’m very new to iOS development, so apologies if this is a basic question. Thanks in advance!
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107
Apr ’25
"Baking together" two audio tracks into one for drag-and-drop
Hi all, with my app ScreenFloat, you can record your screen, along with system- and microphone audio. Those two audio feeds are recorded into separate audio tracks in order to individually remove or edit them later on. Now, these recordings you create with ScreenFloat can be drag-and-dropped to other apps instantly. So far, so good, but some apps, like Slack, or VLC, or even websites like YouTube, do not play back multiple audio tracks, just one. So what I'm trying to do is, on dragging the video recording file out of ScreenFloat, instantly baking together the two individual audio tracks into one, and offering that new file as the drag and drop file, so that all audio is played in the target app. But it's slow. I mean, it's actually quite fast, but for drag and drop, it's slow. My approach is this: "Bake together" the two audio tracks into a one-track m4a audio file using AVMutableAudioMix and AVAssetExportSession Take the video track, add the new audio file as an audio track to it, and render that out using AVAssetExportSession For a quick benchmark, a 3'40'' movie, step 1 takes ~1.7 seconds, and step two adds another ~1.5 seconds, so we're at ~3.2 seconds. That's an eternity for a drag and drop, where the user might cancel if there's no immediate feedback. I could also do it in one step, but then I couldn't use the AV*Passthrough preset, and that makes it take around 32 seconds then, because I assume it touches the video data (which is unnecessary in this case, so I think the two-step approach here is the fastest). So, my question is, is there a faster way? The best idea I can come up with right now is, when initially recording the screen with system- and microphone audio as separate tracks, to also record both of them into a third, muted, "hidden" track I could use later on, basically eliminating the need for step one and just ripping the two single audio tracks out of the movie and only have the video and the "hidden" track (then unmuted), but I'd still have a ~1.5 second delay there. Also, there's the processing and data overhead (basically doubling the movie's audio data). All this would be great for an export operation (where one expects it to take a little time), but for a drag-and-drop operation, it's not ideal. I've discarded the idea of doing a promise file drag, because many apps do not accept those, and I want to keep wide compatibility with all sorts of apps. I'd appreciate any ideas or pointers. Thank you kindly, Matthias
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710
Mar ’25
Playing audio live from Bluetooth headset on iPhone speaker
Hi guys, I am having issue in live-streaming audio from Bluetooth headset and playing it live on the iPhone speaker. I am able to redirect audio back to the headset but this is not what I want. The issue happens when I am trying to override output - the iPhone switches to speaker but also switches a microphone. This is example of the code: import AVFoundation class AudioRecorder { let player: AVAudioPlayerNode let engine:AVAudioEngine let audioSession:AVAudioSession let audioSessionOutput:AVAudioSession init() { self.player = AVAudioPlayerNode() self.engine = AVAudioEngine() self.audioSession = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() self.audioSessionOutput = AVAudioSession() do { try self.audioSession.setCategory(AVAudioSession.Category.playAndRecord, options: [.defaultToSpeaker]) try self.audioSessionOutput.setCategory(AVAudioSession.Category.playAndRecord, options: [.allowBluetooth]) // enables Bluetooth HFP profile try self.audioSession.setMode(AVAudioSession.Mode.default) try self.audioSession.setActive(true) // try self.audioSession.overrideOutputAudioPort(.speaker) // doens't work } catch { print(error) } let input = self.engine.inputNode self.engine.attach(self.player) let bus = 0 let inputFormat = input.inputFormat(forBus: bus) self.engine.connect(self.player, to: engine.mainMixerNode, format: inputFormat) input.installTap(onBus: bus, bufferSize: 512, format: inputFormat) { (buffer, time) -> Void in self.player.scheduleBuffer(buffer) print(buffer) } } public func start() { try! self.engine.start() self.player.play() } public func stop() { self.player.stop() self.engine.stop() } } I am not sure if this is a bug or not. Can somebody point me into the right direction? I there a way to design a custom audio routing? I would also appreciate some good documentation besides AVFoundation docs.
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359
Mar ’25
how to enumerate build-in media devices?
Hello, I need to enumerate built-in media devices (cameras, microphones, etc.). For this purpose, I am using the CoreAudio and CoreMediaIO frameworks. According to the table 'Daemon-Safe Frameworks' in Apple’s TN2083, CoreAudio is daemon-safe. However, the documentation does not mention CoreMediaIO. Can CoreMediaIO be used in a daemon? If not, are there any documented alternatives to detect built-in cameras in a daemon (e.g., via device classes in IOKit)? Thank you in advance, Pavel
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152
May ’25
Is a Locked Capture Extension allowed to just "open the app" when the device is unlocked?
Hey, Quick question. I noticed that Adobe's new app, Project Indigo, allows you to open the app using the Camera Control button. However, when your device is locked it just shows this screen: Would this normally be approved by the Appstore approval process? I ask because I would like to do something similar with my camera app. I know that this is not the best user experience, but my apps UI is not built in Swift and I don't have the resources to build the UI again. At least this way the user experience would be improved from what it is now, where users cannot even launch the app. I get many requests per week about this feature and would love to improve the UX for my users, even if it's not the best possible. Thanks, Alex
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299
Jun ’25
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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137
Apr ’25