Mike Peterson
Apple's slate of operating system updates for 2020 brings noteworthy improvements to the Voice Memos app, including a new Enhance Recording feature.
In both macOS Big Sur and iOS 14, Voice Memos gets new features like Enhanced Recording, the ability to mark favorites, and organizational options thanks to smart folders.
Apple says the Enhanced Recording feature will reduce "background noise and room reverberation with a single tap," which could mean clearer audio for users on iPhone and Mac. The addition could be useful for podcast creators or musicians, particularly when paired with the "studio-quality" microphones in the 2020 iPad Pro or 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro.
Users will also get the ability to group audio recordings into folders and mark specific ones as favorites. A new Smart Folders option will automatically group together recordings from Apple Watch, recently deleted clips and Favorites.
The new capabilities were spotted by 9to5Mac on Tuesday.
Voice Memos was originally an iOS-specific feature, but was introduced to macOS in Mojave thanks to Apple's Catalyst technology.
The new Voice Memos app is available to developers testing out the new 2020 software updates in beta. It will launch to the public on iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur in the fall.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
4 Comments
Use Voice Memos all the time sounds like it just got even better.
Better quality is nice, but Apple needs to allow using the stereo mics on the newer iPhones. It makes no sense that they're restricted to video recording.
Automated cleanup of reverb, room tone, hissing or other background noises is a smart addition for podcasters, although I wonder if the tool has a range of adjustments which may be applied. Background noises cover a very wide range.