At the iPhone 16 series launch event in the early morning of September 10, Apple launched a major upgrade to the Voice Memos app, introducing multi-track recording capabilities for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. This new feature marks a significant advancement in mobile audio recording, but it does not seem to be available for older iPhones or the standard iPhone 16.
The introduction of multitrack recording allows iPhone 16 Pro users to overlay a new track on top of an existing recording, which is very attractive to musicians and songwriters. Users can first record an initial track, such as a guitar part, and then add vocals or other instruments as an overlay recording.
Specifically, the Voice Memos app will play the already recorded music through the iPhone’s speakers while recording the user’s new track. Through what Apple calls “advanced processing” technology, the app is able to isolate the overlay from the background music and produce a professional-grade recording that does not require headphones. This means that users can effectively separate different tracks for separate processing or editing.
The update addresses a long-standing limitation in the Voice Memos app, which remains a popular tool for musicians to quickly capture creative ideas despite its relatively simple functionality. However, the new feature is limited to the high-end Pro version of the iPhone, which may be a big disappointment to some users.
Apple has not yet detailed why this feature is limited to the iPhone 16 Pro version, but it is likely because the new feature needs to take advantage of the powerful processing power of the A18 Pro chip and the device’s new four professional-grade microphones. The iPhone 16 series will be officially released on September 20, and pre-sales have already started in China. Nevertheless, the multi-track recording function is expected to be launched via a software update later this year.
