Better audio recordings on your smartphone
Published
With a smartphone in your pocket you always carry a capable video and audio recorder. Recording sound on your phone can save an interview, carry a spontaneous podcast, keep a semester of lectures on record and make your home videos considerably better.
In every one of those situations poor sound has the power to undo the effort. Words missed in an interview, viewers who give up on a video: distorted sound spoils the result quickly.
A few targeted adjustments lift a smartphone’s audio quality enormously: the right settings, clever apps and a compact external microphone.
The basics of good sound
- Microphone position: Know where the microphones sit on your phone — usually along the bottom edge and next to the cameras — and keep your fingers off them.
- Where you record: Keep wind and background noise down by pointing the microphone deliberately at whatever you are recording.
- Distance to your subject: The closer the phone is to the person speaking, the clearer and fuller the sound.
- Switch on flight mode: It keeps notification tones, calls and vibration out of the recording.
Apps and settings
- Set up iOS Voice Memos: In Settings, under Voice Memos, set the audio quality to “Lossless”.
- Voice Record Pro (iOS): Precise manual control over gain, bit rate, sample rate and encoding format.
- Titanium Recorder (Android): Full control over sample rates, gain levels and uncompressed formats.
- RecForge II (Android): Advanced recording, with your choice of microphone and automatic level control.
Microphones and accessories
- Use an external microphone: The single most effective step towards professional sound, over USB-C or Lightning.
- Lavalier / clip-on microphones: Ideal for interviews and vlogs (a Saramonic LavMicro or a Sennheiser, say) when you want the voice to carry.
- Shotgun and stereo microphones: Right for atmospheric video and events — a Shure MV88+ with a windshield, for instance.
- Windshields and tripods: A windjammer (“deadcat”) and a mini tripod are what keep outdoor recordings clean.
