iOS 26: Use AirPods as Microphone When Shooting Video

[MacRumors]

In iOS 26, you can use AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Pro 3 as a wireless microphone with supported camera apps. Think of it as turning your AirPods into a lapel mic – you get professional-quality audio capture as well as the freedom to move around during recording. Here's how it works.

Setting Up AirPods as Your Camera Microphone

Using AirPods as a microphone in iOS 26 requires just a few quick steps through Control Center. Make sure your AirPods are connected to your iPhone or iPad before you begin. Note that using AirPods as a camera microphone isn't available in all countries or regions.

1. With your AirPods in your ears, open the Camera app.
2. Switch to Video mode in the Camera app.
3. Open Control Center by swiping down from the upper-right corner of the screen.
4. Tap Camera Controls at the top.
5. Under "Audio & Video," tap Input, then select your AirPods from the pop-up menu. (Note: You might also see Same as System as an option.)

Mic Mode Options

From the same Camera Controls screen, you can also choose from four different microphone modes to suit your recording environment:

• Automatic: Lets your device choose the optimal setting.
• Standard: Default audio processing.
• Voice Isolation: Reduces background noise and emphasizes speech.
• Wide Spectrum: Captures a fuller range of ambient sounds.

Start Your Recording

When you're ready, press the stem on your AirPods to begin recording video. You now have hands-free control over your recording session while your AirPods capture the audio. When you're done, press your AirPods stem again to end the shoot.

Article Link: iOS 26: Use AirPods as Microphone When Shooting Video

 

[MacTwick]

Does this work with the native Camera app? Can't test right now, but that's what i've been waiting for!

 

[StuBeck]

Is this really just limited to these specific devices or can you do it with any device that has a microphone?

 

[Ntombi]

Is it sticky, or do you have to go through the selection process each time?

 

[CocktailHour]

Would like to try this out.

 

[RickDEGH]

Sounds neat

 

[ant69]

I'm waiting for the option to use external bluetooth/wired mics when shooting videos

 

[tennisproha]

AirPods Pro do not have studio quality mics like the iPhones Pro do

 

[techspin]

Tested it yesterday with APP2. Sounds pretty good. A dedicated mic is better but this is a nice feature.

 

[Flamingdeathbolts]

As an amateur tutorial video creator this is really awesome. But I do prefer shooting the video first and then recording my voice to put over it to cut the video as desired.

 

[Plutonius]

I can already see studios filming a complete movie with iPhones and AirPods .

 

[soccersop]

It would be great if they could be used out of the ear this way to hide them or get a wider stereo sound spectrum. Is that possible?

 

[Corpuscle]

Would like to try this out.

Me too. If I ever decide to install 26.

 

[kellycherish]

pushing the stem doesn't start recording for me. Any suggestions?

 

[neverknew]

Slightly unrelated question—in iOS 26 when you are on a call, can you use AirPods to listen and change the mic source to be the phone? APP mics are absolute trash and no one is ever able to hear me properly, but I might update for that alone

 

[Radeon85]

And why the hell can we not use the Powerbeats Pro 2 as the mic, as that also uses the Apple H2. Either it needs a firmware update or Apple is intentionally artificially limiting features again.

 

[Vasilioskn]

Wait this was never an option before ?? Smdh.

 

[edrozenberg]

Sounds great and a useful feature but not true that "you get professional-quality audio capture". Nope never has been the case, maybe it will be some day but today is not that day and neither is tomorrow. Not with any earbuds even though the AirPod Pro 3's appear to have noticeably improved mics. And not with mics you attach to a camera sitting multiple feet away from the speaker. There is no substitute for a pro-level lapel mic or a desktop mic or a "shotgun" (long directional) mic.

Check Marco Arment's "Podcasting Microphones Mega-Review" for desktop mic reviews (tldr; Earthworks ETHOS, Shure Beta 87A, Rode PodMic and many others), and watch some of the hundreds of Curtis Judd YT reviews of all types of mics and audio interfaces.

Pro audio doesn't come easy or super cheap and there is no alternative to looking at a bunch of reviews and trying out a few pieces of gear yourself with your own voice in your own recording environment with your own recordings.

 

[matsan]

Too bad they didn't carry this feature over to iPadOS 26, where the Input is not visible (at least not on my 3gen Pro).

 

[ignatius345]

AirPods Pro do not have studio quality mics like the iPhones Pro do

Not to mention, it's a bluetooth connection.

I believe the point of this is that while you could probably get cleaner audio from an iPhone Pro, you'd have to position that iPhone closer than you might want in a video. The AirPods are less obtrusive and (I suspect) good enough quality for general use.

Sounds great and a useful feature but not true that "you get professional-quality audio capture".

Marketers love to trot out that term. It could really mean anything, honestly. If any person who makes money doing something uses AirPods for audio, it automatically is "professional quality". LOL

 

[TheMountainLife]

I believe the point of this is that while you could probably get cleaner audio from an iPhone Pro, you'd have to position that iPhone closer than you might want in a video. The AirPods are less obtrusive and (I suspect) good enough quality for general use.

I'm sure this is it. I have both APP2 and Buds Pro 3 from Samsung and is a nice feature when I tested it on Samsung. I took a video of a small waterfall while wearing the buds and it creates a better stereo sound as I was panning the camera around. I never really considered all the videos we shoot with our phones are mono.

 

[CarletonTorpin]

I tried it just now and it mostly works. The footage's video and audio are unsynced, though; the audio is lagging about 12-15 frames behind the video. Hopefuly this improves. Tested with Airpods Pro 2, iPhone 15 Pro Max, front-facing camera, iOS 26.0

 

[edrozenberg]

I tried it just now and it mostly works. The footage's video and audio are unsynced, though; the audio is lagging about 12-15 frames behind the video. Hopefuly this improves. Tested with Airpods Pro 2, iPhone 15 Pro Max, front-facing camera, iOS 26.0

Interesting - if the amount of audio lag is fixed (i.e. a specific number of frames/ms) it can be synced in post. If the lag varies at different points in the video good luck, maybe some AI tool, if one is even available, can do sync based on the speaker's face if it's visible.

 

[CarletonTorpin]

Interesting - if the amount of audio lag is fixed (i.e. a specific number of frames/ms) it can be synced in post. If the lag varies good luck, maybe some AI tool, if one is even available, can do sync based on the speaker's face if it's visible.

Correct. I took the footage into Final Cut Pro and adjusted the sync, and it was fine. I have a feeling that this is something Apple can, and hopefully 'will', correct soon.

 

[OGdrknight]

My wife is looking at the AAP3’s and if it can double as a lapel mic all the better, but I’ll wait until someone can do comparison test with some well known mics before we take the plunge.