Grammy winners test-drive Voice Memos’ new Layered Recordings feature

In an advancement for mobile music production, Apple showed off the Voice Memos app’s new Layered Recordings feature Wednesday, releasing a new holiday single recorded with it. Exclusively available on the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, Layered Recordings comes via the newly released iOS 18.2 update.

Voice Memos app’s new Layered Recordings feature comes to iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max

The Voice Memo app‘s new Layered Recordings feature transforms the everyday voice recording app into a sophisticated mobile recording studio. That’s thanks in part to the iPhone 16 Pro handsets’ new studio-quality microphones. Available in the new iOS 18.2 updpate, the new feature lets musicians (or anyone) capture vocal tracks over instrumental recordings without the need for headphones, Apple said.

The capability was recently put to the test by an all-star trio of Grammy Award winners — Michael Bublé, Carly Pearce, and producer Greg Wells. They collaborated on a new holiday single titled “Maybe This Christmas” using the innovative feature. You can watch and listen to a performance of it below.

“I don’t think people realize the critical role Voice Memos on iPhone plays in the creation process for musicians,” Bublé said. “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.”

A18 Pro chip makes it possible

Made possible by the new A18 Pro chip, the new features takes advantage of advanced processing and machine learning algorithms to achieve what was previously impossible on a mobile device. Users can play instrumental tracks through the iPhone’s speaker while simultaneously recording vocals using the device’s microphones. The system automatically isolates the vocal recording, creating separate tracks that can be exported to professional audio workstations.

The development is a step forward in mobile music production, particularly for artists who need to capture ideas on the go. The feature allows musicians to incorporate various background instrumentals, such as acoustic guitar or piano, as the first layer. Professional producers can also send instrumental music mixes directly from Logic Pro to Voice Memos as compressed audio files. That helps vocalists add their parts whenever inspiration strikes.

Recordings in the cloud

The integration with Apple’s broader ecosystem adds another layer of convenience. Through iCloud sync, Layered Recordings become automatically available across devices. That enables seamless transitions between mobile recording and professional production environments. Musicians can easily drag and drop their recordings into Logic Pro sessions on Mac for further refinement and mixing.

The collaboration between Bublé, Pearce, and Wells serves as a high-profile demonstration of the feature’s capabilities. In the behind-the-scenes video above, the artists share insights into their creative process and how the new Voice Memos feature enabled them to record their vocals entirely on the iPhone 16 Pro, showcasing the potential for professional-quality mobile recording.

Fans eager to experience the results can stream “Maybe This Christmas” on Apple Music in Spatial Audio. That gives listeners an immersive audio experience showcasing the quality achievable with the new recording capability.

iOS 18.2 update available now

You can get the new Layered Recordings feature by downloading the new iOS 18.2 update released Wednesday for iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. The feature’s integration extends to Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 (requiring macOS Sequoia 15.2) and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 (requiring iPadOS 18.2), creating a comprehensive ecosystem for mobile music production.

This update to Voice Memos represents Apple’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with mobile technology. It’s pretty cool that it transforms a simple voice recording app into a useful tool for professional musicians and aspiring amateurs alike.

Source: Apple