Voice Isolation on calls

[ChrisEdwards]

I’ve just discovered a wonderful feature that works on all devices for web-based calls (WhatsApp, FaceTime, Zoom).

This might be super-well-known to 99% of you, but it somehow passed me by until this weekend where I discovered it hiding in plain sight in the Control Center.

1. When on a call, go to Control Center (swipe from top right corner) and click on Mic Mode

2. Change it to Voice Isolation. This removes a lot of background noise that you get with the Standard default option.

Apparently Wide Spectrum brings in as much background noise as possible - might be useful if you want to call someone and they want to hear what you are hearing (e.g., if you’re FaceTiming during a fireworks display or something).

Funny - I consider myself a relatively advanced user of my Apple devices, but this one completely evaded me, so it might have been the same for others too!

[marius]

Another way to look at the “Wide Spectrum” option is that it provides a higher-quality, less processed audio stream. If you think of it as a gradient of noise processing and signal compression, Wide Spectrum has the least, then Standard, then Voice Isolation.

The downside is, as you noted, more environmental noise coming through too just as it would with a professional microphone setup, but if you’re in a space with decent acoustics it will make your voice sound fuller, richer, and less like a phone call. Can be handy for things like practising music together or providing a more immersive experience for the other end of the call.

I really like that we get the option, in any case!