At Apple’s recent event, a major update to the Voice Memos app was announced, introducing a multitrack recording feature that seems to be exclusively available on the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. If Audio Mix is available, so is Voice Memos. multitrack.
Multi-track dictaphone
The new feature lets users layer one audio track on top of another, which is great for musicians and songwriters who might, for example, record a guitar track and later add a vocal or other instrument as a dub. The app plays the original track through the iPhone’s speakers while recording the new layer, and Apple’s “advanced processing” technology isolates the layered portion, removing background music for a cleaner sound without the need for headphones.
For those who don’t know, the Dictaphone app currently makes it easy to record audio notes, lessons, or family moments, turning your phone into a portable recorder. It offers editing tools like shortening and replacing excerpts, as well as organizational features with folders and favorites. Thanks to iCloud syncing, recordings are accessible across all your Apple devices, and can be edited or shared from iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.
With the upcoming update, the Voice Memos app will be upgraded, which was previously known for its simplicity in quickly capturing ideas. However, the exclusivity of this feature to the Pro models might disappoint customers who have no intention or need to upgrade to the latest model.
While Apple hasn’t specified the technical reasons for this limitation, it’s likely that multitrack recording relies on the advanced processing power of the A18 Pro chip and the four new studio-quality microphones found in the iPhone 16 Pro models.
Audio Mix
Indeed, one of the selling points of Apple’s iPhone 16 Pro during the conference is called Audio Mix. It’s a feature based on advanced intelligence and machine learning that can creatively modify the audio of videos. Audio Mix allows users to adjust the audio after taking shots to focus on the voice of the person on screen, make the video sound like it was recorded in a professional studio, or place vocal tracks in the front and ambient noise in surround sound. With Wind Noise Reduction, algorithms reduce unwanted noise for a better final sound.
Buy the new iPhone
The new iPhone 16s are available for pre-orders as of today, and will be available in stores from September 20. Be careful, however, the multitrack recording function should be introduced later in the year through a software update, probably iOS 18.1 or iOS 18.2.
Download the free app Dictaphone
