Voice Memos update brings Layered Recording to iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

Apple’s Voice Memos app has long been a favorite tool for musicians to capture song ideas and melodies. Now, with the release of iOS 18.2, Voice Memos on iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max is transformed into a more powerful mobile recording studio, thanks to the addition of Layered Recordings.

Layered Recordings: A Studio in Your Pocket

Layered Recordings allow musicians to record vocals on top of existing instrumental tracks directly within the Voice Memos app. This innovative feature utilizes the advanced processing capabilities of the A18 Pro chip and machine learning to isolate vocal recordings, creating two separate tracks that can be further refined in professional music production software like Logic Pro.

How it Works

The process is simple: users can play their instrumental track through the iPhone speaker and simultaneously record their vocals using the studio-quality microphones on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Voice Memos then intelligently separates the vocal and instrumental tracks, enabling seamless mixing and production.

Collaboration with GRAMMY Winners

To showcase the potential of Layered Recordings, Apple collaborated with GRAMMY Award-winning artists Michael Bublé, Carly Pearce, and producer Greg Wells to create their new holiday track, “Maybe This Christmas”. The artists utilized Voice Memos on iPhone 16 Pro to record the vocals for the song, highlighting the app’s capability to capture professional-quality recordings in a mobile environment.

“I don’t think people realize the critical role Voice Memos on iPhone plays in the creation process for musicians,” said Bublé. “And now with Layered Recordings, if an artist has a moment of inspiration, being unencumbered by the traditional studio experience becomes the advantage, not the limitation. It’s so typically Apple to build something we didn’t know we needed — and now won’t be able to live without.”

Seamless Integration with Logic Pro

Layered Recordings created in Voice Memos are seamlessly synced across devices via iCloud and can be easily imported into Logic Pro on Mac or iPad for further editing and production. This integration streamlines the creative process, allowing musicians to capture ideas on their iPhone and transition smoothly to a professional studio environment.

Availability:

The Layered Recordings feature for Voice Memos is available on iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max running iOS 18.2. Sharing to Voice Memos and importing a Layered Recording is available on Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 with macOS Sequoia 15.2, and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 with iPadOS 18.2.