The best way to record sound on your Apple iPhone
The best microphone in the world is the one you have with you when you need it. Steve Jobs once said that about the iPhone camera, but it naturally applies to audio recording, too.
The iPhone microphone is highly popular among musicians - in a 2020 interview with GQ, Kanye called it "the best microphone in the world". 20% of the vocals on his release were recorded on an iPhone. It's a testament to the built-in microphone's quality, which works even in extreme cases: you can lay your phone directly in front of a guitar amp, and it won't distort. For a device this small, being able to handle such extreme sound pressure so easily is truly impressive.
What most people don't know: modern iPhones have several built-in microphones. One at the top, one at the bottom, and one at the back.
Apple's built-in Voice Memos only uses the bottom microphone - like pretty much every other audio recording app. And even though it sounds good enough for Kanye, it leaves a lot of potential for good sound on untouched.
If you want to get the best sound, we have a better app for you: tape it. Tape It combines the top and bottom microphone to record in stereo.
Here is an example of what that sounds like. It was recorded by the amazing artist Julia Jonas. Make sure to wear headphones:
Yes, that was recorded on the same phone. Amazing, isn't it? With Tape It, the highs are preserved much better, the sound is more neutral, and the overall sound is incredibly natural.
Here is another example. This is a synth sound from a Nord Stage keyboard. The phone was just lying on top of it - you can hear the clacking of the keys.
The stereo width, the clarity, the richness of the sound are in their own league. And it's still the very same phone.
So before you go out and get yourself a dedicated field recorder - which easily costs $100 or more - or are trying to scrub together the money for a new iPhone, just tape it. Better sound quality is literally one tap away:
