I am a private individual working on a personal panorama viewing and reprojection project. I have been investigating the geometry of panoramas produced by the iPhone Camera app, with extensive analytical and research assistance from OpenAI's ChatGPT. My goal is to determine the physical viewing direction (longitude and latitude, or equivalently a 3-D viewing ray) corresponding to each pixel in a finished iPhone panorama. I have been able to recover much of this geometry from information contained in the panorama itself. Controlled tests on several iPhone models indicate that I can accurately determine the effective focal length of the perspective source camera, camera rotation during capture, endpoint geometry, horizontal field of view, and gravity-relative camera orientation. The remaining problem is the absolute vertical/latitude mapping in the finished panorama. The gravity/orientation information allows me to determine where a known physical latitude—for example, the true horizontal plane (0° latitude)—falls in the individual source-camera frames. However, I have not found a documented way to determine exactly where those source-frame viewing rays are placed vertically in the final panorama bitmap. My investigation suggests that the Camera app performs additional geometric processing during panorama assembly, including geometric/perspective correction and the selection, cropping and/or rotation of image slices before they are blended into the panorama. What I have not been able to determine is whether the information needed to reconstruct that source-ray-to-finished-pixel mapping is retained anywhere in the finished panorama or is available through a supported Apple API. My primary question is therefore: Is there a documented or supported way to determine the physical viewing ray corresponding to each pixel in a panorama produced by the iPhone Camera app, including its absolute vertical/latitude mapping? More specifically: Is the projection used for the finished Camera panorama documented? Is the gravity-relative orientation or vertical reference of that projection available through supported metadata or an API? Is sufficient information retained in the panorama to reconstruct the geometric correction and placement applied to source images/slices during panorama assembly? If that information is not retained in the finished image, is there another supported framework or API that provides it during or after panorama capture? I am not trying to reproduce Apple's image blending or other proprietary image-processing algorithms. I simply want to interpret the geometry of the finished image accurately enough to reproject it—for example, to cylindrical or equirectangular coordinates—and assign physical longitude and latitude to its pixels. I have controlled test panoramas from multiple iPhone generations and considerably more technical detail about the investigation. I would be happy to provide example files, measurements, or additional information if that would be helpful. Even confirmation that the required vertical-placement information is not retained or exposed would be very useful.

The documentation for AVAudioSession.Mode.measurement says that this mode will "minimize the amount of system-supplied signal processing to input and output signals" https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfaudio/avaudiosession/mode-swift.struct/measurement Is there any documentation regarding specifically what processing is applied in the .default or .videoRecording modes and how it is different in .measurement mode? If my app adds its own signal processing, is it best practice to always use .measurement mode? What should I use for an app that applies its own signal processing to the audio in a video recording? Is it possible to "minimize system-supplied signal processing" while recording a video?

Our iOS app plays Apple Music catalog videos using MusicKit JS v3 in WKWebView. We use a WebView, with the current video visible. Tests are on an iPhone 16e running iOS 26.6.2, built with SDK 27.1. Inline playback and PiP are allowed, background audio is enabled, and the system’s automatic PiP setting is on. A real button click calling video.requestPictureInPicture() successfully opens PiP, which continues playing when returning to the Home Screen. However, leaving the app without opening PiP manually produces audio only. We tested both public video PiP APIs, including an early request from UIScene.willDeactivateNotification. In the latest trace, AVKit reports a visible, supported and eligible source, then reads ForegroundInactive and immediately reports “Failed to start picture in picture.” The video briefly reports PiP mode before returning inline; no PiP window appears. Our WebKit audio session also changes from ambient to auto on deactivation; its contribution has not been isolated. Is automatic inline PiP supported for MusicKit JS videos in WKWebView? Is there a supported configuration or initialization hook to prepare it while the scene is still active? We do not own WebKit’s underlying controller to set canStartPictureInPictureAutomaticallyFromInline. What lifecycle and audio-session setup does Apple recommend? If this behavior is unexpected, which minimal reproduction and diagnostics would help DTS investigate?

With a joined PTChannelManager channel and setAccessoryButtonEventsEnabled(true) completing successfully, what supported condition makes a classic Bluetooth headset's AVRCP Play event start PTT transmission instead of routing to a media app? The headset microphone and physical Stop button work. The next physical Start press produces no didBeginTransmittingFrom callback, while an on-screen Start request works again. Tested environment Observed on 3 October 2026: iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 26.6.1. Xcode 26.6, macOS 26.5.2. boAt Rockerz 255 Pro+, classic Bluetooth A2DP/HFP. Push to Talk capability, microphone permission, and audio/push-to-talk background modes enabled. Default half-duplex transmission mode and Ready service status retained. Isolation and setup The reproduction uses an independent UIKit controller initialized before the host app runtime. No React Native, Expo audio module, Live Activity, MPRemoteCommandCenter, Now Playing metadata, audio player, transcription, or backend participates. The controller retains its channel manager, leaves a restored channel before joining a fresh channel, and enables accessory button events in didJoinChannel. The revised test configures the audio session at launch, before manager initialization: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .voiceChat, options: [.allowBluetoothHFP]) The relevant join callback is: func channelManager(_ channelManager: PTChannelManager, didJoinChannel channelUUID: UUID, reason: PTChannelJoinReason) { channelManager.setAccessoryButtonEventsEnabled(true, channelUUID: channelUUID) { error in // The test logs successful completion here. } } PTT owns audio activation/deactivation; the diagnostic never calls setActive. In didActivate, it reapplies the same category/mode/options, clears a speaker override, selects an available HFP input, waits for the route to settle, and starts an AVAudioEngine input tap. It verifies HFP input/output and incoming frame counts; samples are discarded. It removes the tap and stops the engine on Stop/deactivation. The full focused sample was already supplied privately to DTS. Its controller was tested on the physical phone through the native-only launch path. The standalone Xcode project packaging passed an unsigned iPhoneOS build, but has not independently been installed on the phone. Reproduction Connect the headset, launch the diagnostic, grant microphone permission, and join a fresh PTT channel. Confirm that enabling accessory events succeeds. Tap on-screen Start, which calls requestBeginTransmitting(channelUUID:). Wait for HFP input/output and incoming audio frames to be verified. Press and release the headset multifunction button. The delegate reports didEndTransmittingFrom with handsfree/headset source (raw 3); PTT deactivates audio and the channel remains joined. Press and release the same headset button again. Expected: PTT begin callback and microphone activation. Observed: no begin callback; Console shows AVRCP Play routed to Music. Tap on-screen Start again: transmission works. Headset Stop works again. Selected evidence The revised launch-configuration test produced this native trace on 3 October (UTC): 04:32:10 launch: native-only; launch audio configuration v2 04:32:10 category=PlayAndRecord; mode=VoiceChat; options=4 04:32:11 fresh channel joined 04:32:11 accessory mapping accepted 04:32:19 app start requested 04:32:19 BEGIN source=2 04:32:20 available inputs=MicrophoneBuiltIn,BluetoothHFP 04:32:20 discard engine running 04:32:21 HEADSET VERIFIED: BluetoothHFP input/output; frames=4096 04:32:22 END source=3 04:32:23 audio deactivated No physical-headset BEGIN appeared in the native event snapshot copied at 04:32:49 UTC. Selected Console observations from the same run, converted from IST to UTC: 04:32:30.529053 AVRCP Play routed to com.apple.Music 04:32:30.535720 Music launch failed: NotFound 04:32:35.852134 the same command timed out after 5.326288 seconds Music had been removed during troubleshooting. Before removal, the user observed Music opening; the supplied timestamped excerpts were captured after removal. Removal explains the launch failure, but does not explain why the joined PTT channel is bypassed. An earlier native-only fresh-channel control also showed Play routing to Music before any app-requested transmission, with no BEGIN or audio activation in the callback trace. That earlier control configured the category in didActivate; it was not a fresh-start test of the revised launch-configuration variant. The revised test above establishes that configuring the category at launch did not fix the post-Stop failure. Questions I reviewed the accessory mapping explanation in https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/804205 and the launch audio configuration guidance in WWDC22 session 10117. Is a discrete AVRCP Play command from this type of consumer headset supported for PTT Start in this state, or is a different command form required? Does the playback-mode qualifier in that forum guidance require an additional supported setup step? Could the category/route sequence described above bypass accessory mapping despite successful completion? What targeted diagnostic or controlled configuration would distinguish accessory-command compatibility from an iOS routing defect? The observations establish a routing/callback mismatch in this tested configuration; I am not assuming an iOS defect or that the headset is unsupported.

As a reminder, the recommended approach to monitor camera rotations, including on upcoming hardware, is to use the AVCaptureDevice.RotationCoordinator / AVCaptureDeviceRotationCoordinator API. In many common scenarios on iPhone Duo, proper use of the rotation coordinator is the only way to ensure that your camera previews and captures use the orientation expected by the user. AVCaptureVideoOrientation has been deprecated as of iOS 17.0 and iPadOS 17.0. When switching cameras in your app, make sure to create a rotation coordinator for that device. To ensure that your app has implemented the rotation coordinator API correctly, you should test different orientations and sizes of your app on an iPad with Stage Manager enabled. Additional information: Sample Code: Supporting device rotation in your camera app Tech Talk: Build a great camera experience for iPhone Duo WWDC23 session: Support external cameras in your iPadOS app

Hello, I need guidance on diagnosing an intermittent audio failure on an iPhone 12 running iOS 26.6.2. My app, Timer Workout Fitness, plays short bundled MP3 voice recordings for countdowns, repetition numbers and workout announcements. It uses React Native / Expo SDK 57 and expo-audio. The native playback implementation uses AVQueuePlayer, AVPlayerItem and AVURLAsset. Users can listen to Spotify while the app plays spoken cues, with ducking of the background music. Observed behavior: Playback can work correctly for an entire workout. Audio sometimes fails after background/foreground transitions, pausing Spotify, or completing one workout and starting another. The exact sequence is not consistently reproducible. The app may remain navigable while recorded audio becomes unavailable. Force-quitting does not always restore reliable playback. Restarting the iPhone has restored it in our tests. Speech-based voices have generally behaved more reliably before the failure. Evidence from a device Console capture: At 15:03:35 on October 12, the kernel reported termination of audiomxd with reason "per-process-limit" and a recorded footprint of 66866 KB. ReportSystemMemory confirmed the jetsam termination. Shortly before this, the Console contained AudioConverter construction messages associated with our app through mediaplaybackd. Our app subsequently reported media-services loss/reset and errors including: "Server was dead" OSStatus 1836282486 We have not established whether our playback implementation causes an accumulation of native resources, a temporary peak, or another issue. We do not assume that this is an iOS defect. The implementation originally retained up to 56 players for individual recordings and loaded them concurrently. We recently changed it to load only the recordings required by a workout: 15 players for 10 repetitions and 35 for 30 repetitions. Failures have still occurred in development testing, but we have not measured the corresponding native memory footprint. We also have a custom native patch affecting activation/deactivation and handling of media-services loss/reset. Current Expo Go tests do not include that patch; our TestFlight builds do. We can provide the patch for review. What is the recommended way to: Attribute audiomxd memory usage to our app’s playback resources? Verify that AVQueuePlayer items and associated decoding resources are released? Capture useful diagnostics for this service termination? Choose an appropriate playback architecture for frequent short local voice clips alongside background music? We have device Console logs and application diagnostic traces. We do not yet have a minimal native Xcode reproduction project and would appreciate guidance on what it should include.

Hi, I'm working on a project that uses the AVSpeechSynthesizer and AVSpeechUtterance. I discovered by chance that the AVSpeechSynthesizer automatically completes some words instead of just outputting what it's supposed to. These are abbreviations for days of the week or months, but not all of them. I don't want either of them automatically completed, but only the specified text. The completion transcends languages. I have written a short example program for demonstration purposes. import SwiftUI import AVFoundation import Foundation let synthesizer: AVSpeechSynthesizer = AVSpeechSynthesizer() struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { VStack { Button { utter("mon") } label: { Text("mon") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("tue") } label: { Text("tue") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("thu") } label: { Text("thu") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("feb") } label: { Text("feb") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("feb", lang: "de-DE") } label: { Text("feb DE") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) Button { utter("wed") } label: { Text("wed") } .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) } .padding() } private func utter(_ text: String, lang: String = "en-US") { let utterance = AVSpeechUtterance(string: text) let voice = AVSpeechSynthesisVoice(language: lang) utterance.voice = voice synthesizer.speak(utterance) } } #Preview { ContentView() } Thank you Christian

I am testing an audio-only MediaDeviceExtension on an iPhone 17 Pro, with Xcode 27.0 (27A266a). The same application build reproduces this on iOS 27.0 (24A437), after a full reboot, and on iOS 27.0.1 (24A446). The extension advertises .realtimeAudioStreaming, one stable device UUID and a reachable, nonzero-port endpoint. It connects to the receiver before reporting activatedDevice. From startRealtimeSampleDelivery(session:), it calls AudioServerPlugInRegisterMediaDeviceExtension. The plug-in exposes one output device with the same UID and kAudioDeviceTransportTypeRemoteStreaming. The driver interface lives for the extension process and is registered on each delivery start. Stop/deactivation closes the transport and stops forwarding samples; it does not terminate the extension or register a null interface. Reproduction: start audio, select the extension's route, confirm audio flows, switch to iPhone Speaker, then reselect the same route while the source keeps playing. First selection works; subsequent selections briefly deliver audio before reverting to Speaker with AVOutputContextDeviceConnectionFailureReasonMDERouteRevertedToLocal. Pausing the source before route selection, waiting five seconds and resuming worked repeatedly in the same extension process; uninterrupted reconnection is the required behavior. The normal test uses Spotify and a separate receiving app. A diagnostic control on iOS 27.0 also reproduces first-success/reconnect-failure using a native AVAudioPlayer PCM source and a separate Mac receiver that counts/discards the samples. That control has no Spotify, DSP processing, local receiver playback session or same-phone transport endpoint. Stored device logs on 27.0.1 show two failed reconnects: Observation Reconnect 1 Reconnect 2 System policy chooses fallback before startRealtimeSampleDelivery 11.103 ms earlier 26.956 ms earlier MusicVAD reported present after fallback decision 364.019 ms later 409.215 ms later Driver registration result OSStatus 0 OSStatus 0 New captured frames before system stops delivery 52,224 47,104 Time from fallback decision to Speaker selection 1,507.218 ms 1,507.904 ms The policy logs identify the active, non-video source as not supporting the extension's protocol, then attempt AirPlay fallback. On the first successful connection, MusicVAD is already present and the policy explicitly permits that same source. On reconnect, successful driver publication and subsequent I/O do not cancel the earlier fallback decision. Transport reports show zero drops and socket errors; StartIO/StopIO counts balance, the stream-active setter is honored, and callback session IDs match. No registration interruption is captured during these attempts. Creating a media device extension directs publication from startRealtimeSampleDelivery. The registration API describes the interface, UID and transport requirements, but I have not found the supported teardown/re-registration contract for this retained-process case. Between stopRealtimeSampleDelivery / deactivation and the next delivery start, should the extension retain and re-register the same driver interface, recreate it, or withdraw the audio device through a documented operation? How should an audio-only extension using the documented publication callback ensure the system's compatibility check waits for its audio device? Is there a supported readiness or completion signal that the implementation must provide? The evidence identifies an ordering difference; I am not assuming it proves an OS defect. Guidance on the required lifecycle, or a reference implementation demonstrating uninterrupted reconnects, would help isolate the remaining driver-versus-system boundary.

I'm looking for a supported way to show occasional contextual information over a FairPlay-protected video in system PiP (Picture in Picture) on iOS and macOS. For example, I'd like to briefly display a small icon or image and a short text label to give the viewer useful context. I want to leave the video stream unchanged and keep normal protected playback, with the additional information displayed as a separate UI layer. Standard protected playback in PiP works. My question is how to include that extra UI in the actual system PiP window, rather than only in the player view inside the app. Does AVKit provide a supported way to display and update image/text overlays on top of an AVPlayer-based PiP presentation while preserving FairPlay playback? If not, is this a general limitation of system PiP, or an additional restriction for protected video? What would be the recommended approach for this use case, including images as well as text?

We are trying to play consecutive Apple Music videos in Picture in Picture from a native iOS app. Our minimal reproduction uses one WKWebView, one MusicKit JS v3 instance and one preloaded queue. There are no parallel players or transitions implemented by our app. Setup: Inline playback enabled; allowsPictureInPictureMediaPlayback reads true. UIBackgroundModes includes audio. Initial PiP is opened through a user gesture and works correctly. Reproduced on iOS 26.6.2 and iOS 27.0; failure details vary between runs. await music.setQueue({ musicVideos: ["1445284008", "1258705880", "290361007"] }); await music.play(); The user opens PiP, goes to the Home screen and lets the first video finish naturally. At the queue boundary, MusicKit replaces its HTMLVideoElement. The existing PiP window closes, and the next video does not inherit the presentation. We also tested requesting PiP once on the new element, after it becomes ready, including a variant waiting for playing. In affected background runs, the element briefly reports the WebKit PiP mode, then receives leavepictureinpicture without enterpictureinpicture. The standard requestPictureInPicture() promise remains pending during observation. Native logs report a failed new PiP start while the source scene is backgrounded. The equivalent explicit handoff succeeds in the foreground. In one background configuration, the next video continued audibly, while the PiP window still closed. Explicit native playback audio-session configuration did not resolve the continuity issue. Is there a supported way to: Preserve the underlying media element/PiP presentation across MusicKit queue items? Transfer an existing PiP session to the replacement element while backgrounded? Obtain a reliable error or rejection when native PiP startup fails but the JavaScript promise remains pending? We can provide a minimal reproducer and correlated JavaScript/native logs.

Our music player plays library and Apple Music catalog content with MusicKit's ApplicationMusicPlayer. On the Mac, we want a volume slider that changes only our app's playback level, like the slider in Music.app. We found no supported way to do this: ApplicationMusicPlayer and MusicPlayer have no volume property. The audio plays in com.apple.MediaPlayer.RemotePlayerService, not in our process, so we cannot change the stream level. MPVolumeView and the deprecated MPMusicPlayerController.volume control the system output volume, not the app's level. AVPlayer cannot play Apple Music catalog content. Questions: Is there a supported API to set the playback volume of ApplicationMusicPlayer on macOS or Mac Catalyst? If there is none, what does Apple recommend for Mac apps that need an app-level volume control for MusicKit playback?

We are developing a voice call application that uses AVRoutePickerView, allowing users to switch between an iPhone, a speaker, and Bluetooth earphones. However, we have encountered an intermittent issue: when switching from the speaker to Bluetooth earphones, the earphones remain in a loading state, and the audio channel subsequently switches back to the speaker. How can we resolve this issue? Here is the sample code: let session = AVAudioSession.sharedInstance() do { try session.setCategory(.playAndRecord, mode: .default, options: [.allowBluetooth]) try session.overrideOutputAudioPort(isBluetoothConnected ? .none : .speaker) try session.setPreferredSampleRate(48000) try session.setPreferredIOBufferDuration(0.02) try session.setActive(true, options: []) INFO(" >>> start: hasBluetooth=\(isBluetoothConnected), inputs: \(session.currentRoute.inputs.map { $0.portType }) outputs: \(session.currentRoute.outputs.map { $0.portType })") } catch { ERROR("(error.localizedDescription)") }

Hello Apple Support, I am experiencing a reproducible Continuity Camera issue on my Mac mini M4 running macOS 27. Problem description My iPhone 17 works as a Continuity Camera when a USB webcam is connected to my Mac mini. However, when I disconnect the USB webcam, the iPhone disappears as an available camera from all applications, including FaceTime and OBS. The issue appears to be related to how macOS publishes or registers the Continuity Camera device, rather than the Mac being unable to discover the iPhone. I would like to use my iPhone 17 as a wireless Continuity Camera without having to keep a USB webcam connected. System information Mac: Mac mini M4 Operating system: macOS 27 iPhone: iPhone 17 Third-party application tested: OBS Apple application tested: FaceTime Troubleshooting performed I have already tried the following: Verified that the iPhone is detected by macOS using: system_profiler SPCameraDataType The output lists both devices: WEB CAMER: Model ID: UVC Camera VendorID_19530 ProductID_19029 iPhone 17 Camera: Model ID: iPhone18,3 Unique ID: CA29F0DB-099C-4589-AF19-CE9500000001 Checked the relevant Continuity and camera processes: launchctl list | grep -Ei 'continuity|camera|avconference|cameracapture' The output included: com.apple.mediacontinuityd com.apple.cmio.ContinuityCaptureAgent com.apple.ptpcamerad com.apple.videoconference.camera Inspected the Continuity Capture agent using: launchctl print gui/$(id -u)/com.apple.cmio.ContinuityCaptureAgent The agent was running, with PID 652. Inspected mediacontinuityd. It was initially not running in the user GUI session: state = not running runs = 0 Attempted to restart the Continuity Capture agent: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.apple.cmio.ContinuityCaptureAgent macOS returned: Could not kickstart service "com.apple.cmio.ContinuityCaptureAgent": 150: Operation not permitted while System Integrity Protection is engaged Attempted to refresh the Continuity service: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.apple.mediacontinuityd The command completed without an error, but the issue remained. Attempted to refresh device discovery: sudo killall -HUP rapportd This did not resolve the issue. Checked for camera helper processes: killall VDCAssistant killall AppleCameraAssistant Neither process was found under my user account. Checked the system logs: log show --last 2m --style compact --predicate 'process == "ContinuityCaptureAgent"' 2>/dev/null | grep -E 'magic:|skip headless|present' | tail -8 The logs repeatedly show that the iPhone is discovered, but its camera is not published. Relevant log messages: Device ... name iPhone 17 present magic:0 (usable:0 nearby:1 wired:0 skipNearByCheck:0) reported magic:0 skip headless device publishing in non magic, non wired state These messages appear repeatedly while the iPhone is detected over Rapport. Restarted the Mac and tested with the USB webcam disconnected. The problem persisted. Tested the iPhone in different physical positions and orientations. This did not resolve the issue. Confirmed that the iPhone disappears from FaceTime and OBS when the USB webcam is disconnected. Expected behaviour The iPhone 17 should remain available as a wireless Continuity Camera when the USB webcam is disconnected. Actual behaviour The iPhone is discovered by the Continuity Capture agent, but the logs show: skip headless device publishing in non magic, non wired state The iPhone camera disappears from all applications when the USB webcam is disconnected. Connecting the USB webcam makes the iPhone camera available again. Questions for Apple Engineering Is this a known issue in macOS 27 affecting Mac mini M4 or other Macs without a built-in camera? What does skip headless device publishing in non magic, non wired state mean in this context? Why does ContinuityCaptureAgent discover the iPhone but refuse to publish it as an available camera? Is there a supported way to refresh or re-register the Continuity Camera service without disabling System Integrity Protection? Is there a known workaround or a planned fix for this issue? I would appreciate help identifying the underlying cause and a permanent solution that allows Continuity Camera to work wirelessly without a USB webcam connected. Thank you.

On an iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) running iPadOS 27.0 (24A437), ScreenCaptureKit delivers a maximum of 60 frames per second when capturing the entire screen, even while an app is rendering at 120 fps (confirmed with the Metal Performance HUD). What I tested: Default configuration: exactly 60 fps, with every frame timestamp spaced 16.67ms apart. Setting minimumFrameInterval to 1/120 and queueDepth to 8, both before starting the stream and through updateConfiguration after it started: the values are accepted and read back correctly, but delivery stays at exactly 60 fps. Smaller output sizes (1/4 and 1/8 of native resolution): still 60 fps. ReplayKit broadcast upload extension: also exactly 60 fps. Also, minimumFrameInterval and queueDepth are documented as available on iOS/iPadOS 27, but the iOS 27 SDK marks them as unavailable. Request: please allow ScreenCaptureKit to capture at the display's full refresh rate (up to 120 fps) on ProMotion devices when minimumFrameInterval asks for it, and make minimumFrameInterval available in the iOS SDK.

We're building a simple iPhone app that shows a live view from the rear camera in Picture in Picture while the user is in other apps. The camera feed is only displayed. It's never recorded, stored or transmitted, and the app has no network access. In testing on an iPhone 15 Pro (iOS 26.6.2) with Xcode 26.6, the camera keeps running behind PiP only when the app declares the voip background mode. Without it, as documented, isMultitaskingCameraAccessSupported is false and the capture session is interrupted with videoDeviceNotAvailableWithMultipleForegroundApps as soon as PiP starts. Our app isn't a calling app, so we don't want to rely on voip. Two questions: Is the com.apple.developer.avfoundation.multitasking-camera-access entitlement available to non-calling apps with a use case like this? If so, how should we request it? If not, is there any supported way for a non-calling app to keep a live camera preview running in PiP on iPhone? I'm happy to share a short screen recording of the prototype.

We are developing an iOS app that plays individual prerecorded spoken-audio files in response to background triggers. The user explicitly enables this functionality while the app is in the foreground. Subsequently, playback may need to start while the app is backgrounded or the device is locked, with silent intervals between files. For this question, please assume that the app is legitimately executing in the background when a trigger arrives. We are not asking how to wake a suspended app or keep it running artificially. Desired behavior Temporarily interrupt other media playback while an audio file is playing. Release the audio session afterwards, allowing the other app to resume. Repeat this for subsequent triggers without requiring foreground interaction. We do not need to override phone calls, Siri, or other higher-priority system audio. Current configuration try session.setCategory( .playback, mode: .voicePrompt, options: [.duckOthers, .interruptSpokenAudioAndMixWithOthers] ) try session.setActive(true) After playback finishes: try session.setActive( false, options: .notifyOthersOnDeactivation ) This provides ducking for other music playback. However, we would prefer non-mixing playback during each file. We are considering .playback with .spokenAudio and no mixing options, but Apple's documentation describes cannotInterruptOthers when attempting to activate a non-mixable session from the background. Questions Is there a supported audio-session lifecycle that allows this intermittent, non-mixing background playback after the user initially enables the feature in the foreground? If we deactivate the session between files, does the background activation restriction apply again to every subsequent file, regardless of the earlier user interaction? Does implementing a CarPlay audio app with the appropriate entitlement change these restrictions? In particular, is there a distinction between playback explicitly initiated through the CarPlay interface and later background-triggered playback? If this behavior is not supported, is ducking/mixing the recommended approach for this use case? We want to use public APIs and avoid silent playback or retaining an active audio session solely to prevent other apps from playing. Any clarification on the intended behavior and recommended configuration would be appreciated. Thank you for your time and guidance! regards, Carsten :-)

Hello, I am developing a non-commercial, web-based music intro quiz using MusicKit on the Web and Apple Music. Before proceeding with development and potentially making the application publicly available, I would like to clarify whether the following implementation complies with Apple’s MusicKit and Apple Music terms. Planned implementation: Each participant authenticates with their own Apple Music account and must have an active subscription. Music is streamed directly from Apple Music to each participant’s device through MusicKit. My server only sends Apple Music song IDs and playback control messages. No audio files are downloaded, stored, modified, redistributed, or transmitted through my server. When the host starts a question, the application triggers playback on each participant’s device. Playback automatically stops after approximately five seconds, allowing participants to guess the song. The application is initially intended for private, non-commercial use with approximately 5–10 participants. I may eventually make it publicly available for online multiplayer sessions. My questions are: Is it permitted for a host to remotely trigger MusicKit playback on other participants’ devices, provided each participant has authenticated with their own Apple Music account? Does automatically stopping playback after approximately five seconds violate any MusicKit playback requirements? Is using Apple Music playback as part of a music identification quiz or game permitted? Would sending song IDs and playback commands to multiple devices be considered prohibited synchronization of Apple Music content, even though each device streams the audio independently? If this implementation is not permitted, would requiring each participant to manually initiate playback make the application compliant, assuming all other requirements are satisfied? Are there any additional licensing requirements or permissions necessary before making this type of application publicly available? I understand that MusicKit has requirements concerning user-initiated playback, standard playback controls, and synchronization with other content. I would particularly appreciate clarification on how these requirements apply to this use case. If this forum is not the appropriate place for questions about MusicKit licensing and permitted use, could someone please direct me to the appropriate Apple team or contact point? Thank you for your time and guidance.

Hello, I am building a Windows desktop application that lets users migrate their own playlists between music services. Apple currently documents automatic Music User Token management for Apple platforms and web apps, and manual token management for Android. I could not find a documented native Windows authorization flow. My proposed architecture is: Windows desktop app → system browser → MusicKit on the Web authorization → return authorization to the same Windows desktop app. The desktop app would then call Apple Music API directly using a developer token issued by my backend and the user authorization obtained through MusicKit. My questions are: Is there a supported way for a Windows desktop app to obtain a Music User Token through MusicKit on the Web and then use that token from the desktop process? Is handing the token back from the browser to the same Windows device supported? If yes, is there a recommended handoff mechanism or lifecycle/refresh guidance? Is secure local storage of that Music User Token on Windows supported? I am not asking about playback. The intended usage is only reading the user’s playlists and creating playlists through Apple Music API. The Media Services private key would remain server-side and would never be shipped with the desktop application. Thank you.

I am building a personal iPhone prototype with an on-screen record platter. Before enrolling in the Apple Developer Program or developing the Apple Music integration further, I would like to establish whether the core interaction is supported by public APIs. The intended interaction is: Tap the platter to play or pause an Apple Music subscription song. Hold the platter to stop playback at its current position. Move the platter forward or backward to control the direction and speed of audible playback continuously. Change pitch together with speed, like a physical record, rather than preserving the original pitch. Release the platter to smoothly return to normal playback. Hold a separate control to listen continuously at a faster speed. A prototype using an AVAudioEngine-based renderer works with unprotected local audio. I have NOT verified these behaviors with Apple Music subscription content. I understand that this local renderer does not establish feasibility for MusicKit, and I am not seeking to extract protected audio or bypass content protection. MusicPlayer.State.playbackRate is documented as settable, with positive values for forward playback and negative values for reverse playback: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/musickit/musicplayer/state-swift.class/playbackrate For ApplicationMusicPlayer on iOS, is this vinyl-style interaction supported for full Apple Music subscription songs, rather than previews or user-owned unprotected files? In particular: What playback-rate range is supported for subscription songs? Do negative rates produce audible reverse playback, and how should zero-speed holding be implemented? Is there a documented public API to make pitch follow playback speed, or to disable pitch preservation? Are frequent rate and direction changes supported for interactive scratching? Are there documented limitations on update frequency, buffering, seeking precision or responsiveness? If this interaction is outside public MusicKit capabilities, is there an official channel where an individual developer can ask about eligibility for an approved Apple Music DJ integration? I am asking for the supported API path and its limitations, not implementation details of another app. If only ordinary variable-speed playback or seeking is supported, a clear distinction from continuous vinyl-style scratching would be very helpful. The initial goal is personal use; possible App Store distribution is undecided. I have an active Apple Music subscription but am not currently enrolled in the paid Apple Developer Program. Thank you.

For an AUv3 plug-in of type kAudioUnitType_MIDIProcessor how is the plug-in supposed to figure out the sample rate of the host? I think this might be an API limitation. For instruments and effects, we can read the AUAudioUnit's output bus format and check the sample rate. But MIDI FX plug-ins have no audio I/O. And even if I set them, Logic Pro, for example, doesn't update the AU if I change the sample rate in Logic. Looking at AVAudioSession.sharedInstance.sampleRate doesn't work either, because the host can have a different sample rate from the hardware. Is there a solution to this that I'm not aware of?