New Voice Memos Multitrack Recording Feature Seemingly Exclusive to iPhone 16 Pro

Apple during its iPhone event earlier this week unveiled a significant upgrade to its Voice Memos app, introducing multitrack recording capabilities that appear to be exclusively for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models. The new feature marks a notable advancement in mobile audio recording, but it appears it will be unavailable for older iPhones or the standard iPhone 16.

voice memos multitrack
Essentially, the multitrack functionality allows iPhone 16 Pro users to layer one audio track on top of an existing recording, a capability that is likely to be particularly attractive to musicians and songwriters. Users can record an initial track, for example a guitar part, and then add a vocal or another instrument as an overdub.

The way it works is that the Voice Memos app plays the music track through the iPhone's speakers, while simultaneously recording the user's voice. It can then isolate the overdubbed part using what Apple calls "advanced processing" and cancel the background music, leaving a "professional-sounding recording" without the need for headphones. This means users can effectively separate the layers for individual use or editing.

The update addresses a long-standing limitation of the Voice Memos app, which has been a popular tool for quickly capturing musical ideas despite its previously basic functionality. But the feature limitation to Apple's premium Pro models may come as an unwelcome surprise to some.

While Apple hasn't detailed the specific technical requirements that make it exclusive to iPhone 16 Pro models, it's likely that the feature leverages the enhanced processing power of the new A18 Pro chip and the devices' new four studio-quality microphones. The iPhone 16 series launches on September 20, with pre-orders starting on Friday, September 13, but the multitrack recording feature is expected to be available later in the year via a software update.

Related Roundup: iPhone 16 Pro

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Top Rated Comments

Return Zero Avatar
7 months ago

A18 Pro is amazing that is able to do this!

Even while the A17 Pro is the same chip.
I think it has more to do with the microphone array than the processing, but I could be wrong.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mavis Avatar
7 months ago
How is it "seemingly" exclusive to the iPhone 16 Pro? They clearly said as much during the presentation. Only the Pro phones have the 4-mic array and the A18 Pro chip. They were very clear about that!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mavis Avatar
7 months ago

MR usually states a source. Without that, we don’t know if this is based on actual information or just speculation.
The 'big reveal' of this Voice Memos upgrade was during the iPhone 16 Pro portion of the event; after explaining how great the A18 Pro chip is and how it allows for advanced media processing, and then explaining how the 16 Pro phones have "four studio-quality microphones," they talked about this new Voice Memos ability and said that it's not available on any other smartphone. So ... it was made abundantly clear that the feature would only be available on the Pro series phones.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
t0rqx Avatar
7 months ago
A18 Pro is amazing that is able to do this!

Even while the A17 Pro is the same chip.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dumastudetto Avatar
7 months ago

I think it has more to do with the microphone array than the processing, but I could be wrong.
That makes sense. It's also definitely a pro feature.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lounge vibes 05 Avatar
7 months ago

Did the definition of multitrack recording just get changed?
Talking over background noise is not multitrack recording, is it?
Technically yes, layering a clip of someone talking over a clip of Background noise is indeed multitrack recording.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)