iOS 18 video recording update lets you choose the soundtrack

Apple is updating the camera app in iOS 18 to enable users to more easily shoot video while playing audio on their phone.

The update overrides a weird quirk in the Camera app, which would automatically pause the audio playback on your phone when attempting to record video via the camera app.

That changes in iOS 18, judging by a feature in the latest beta version of the app spotted by MacRumors, which shows a new option in the Camera settings’ “Record Sound” menu. Users will soon be able to access an “Allow Audio Playback” option.

The text beneath the toggle box explains: “Audio playback will not pause automatically when recording video. When playing audio using the iPhone speaker, audio will be recorded in mono.”

This will make it possible for users to record what is coming from their phone’s speakers as part of the video. Previously, there was a way around the audio pausing quirk, via using the Photo portion of the camera interface and simply pressing and holding the capture button for the duraction of the recording.

That method, called Quick Take, kept the audio playing while you recorded the video. I’ve used it when capturing footage of my yoga classes without interrupting the music for participants. The only problem with this method is, as the report points out, is that video is recorded at lower quality.

iOS 18 is probably a little bit more than a month away from launch, with the various beta versions adding and refining new features along the way. Just yesterday, we saw a new Safari feature called Distraction Control, which will enable users to remove annoying elements from webpages for a more focused browsing experience.