iOS 18.2 secretly added a Voice Memos track layering feature — and it’s got Michael Bublé’s approval

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it's beginning to look a lot like voice memos

woman recording voice note on her phone
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Voice Memos on iOS 18.2 will make creating music on iPhone much easier thanks to a new feature.

The iPhone's Voice Memo feature has many uses, but it's also a bit basic. The program only captures a single channel, meaning it's impossible to create layered voices and often makes tweaking levels in post-production much more difficult. However, with the release of iOS 18.2, Apple has adapted the feature to make it much more usable for creative projects on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Users with an iPhone 16 can use the voice memo app to layer a vocal track over an instrumental track — all without using headphones. To show off the feature, Apple teamed up with Michael Bublé, Carly Pearce, and Greg Wells, who go into detail on how they used the feature to record the vocal tracks for their latest song, "Maybe This Is Christmas."

The concept is interesting, and the video goes into detail about how best to use it. Essentially, singers can hit record and sing over an instrumental clip, which the iPhone will then convert into two individual tracks within the same file. This file can then be sent to Logic Pro, where you can edit the two tracks individually.

From a production standpoint, it makes life a lot easier, as an editor won't have to sync the files after receiving them. It's also possible to send a compressed audio file directly to Voice Memos, meaning that artists can record whenever the inspiration strikes them.

iOS 18.2 has plenty of features for those who aren't big on musical recordings. For instance, it's possible to use Genmoji to quickly create new emojis in conversations. Not only that, iPhone 16 users can also use the new camera control button to access the Visual Intelligence feature that opens up a whole new use for your cameras.

Currently, this feature is locked to the iPhone 16, and you'll need Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 with macOS Sequoia 15.2, or Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 with iPadOS 18.2 to edit the files.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.