The latest iPhones are capable of adding a second ‘layer’ to a recording in the Voice Memos app. The clever part about this is the ability to record an audio track directly on top of an another – without needing headphones. Usually you’d use headphones to be able to hear the original recording without it bleeding into your second recording, but here the app intelligently compensates for the background audio, ensuring your second layer sounds nice and clean.
Layered Voice Memos requires iPhone 16 Pro or 16 Pro Max running iOS 18.2 or higher.
That makes Layered Voice Memos ideal for musicians who want to quickly lay down a backing track and experiment with different vocal ideas, but it’s also useful for podcasters, voice actors, or creatives looking to add to existing recordings. Once recorded, these tracks even can be exported to professional apps like Logic Pro for further editing. It’s a nice addition and fills the void left by Apple’s long-dead songwriting app, Music Memos.
Here’s exactly how to get stared.
Open the built-in Voice Memos app and select the existing recording you wish to add a vocal layer to. (Or use the big red button to capture a new recording if you don’t have any yet). When you’re ready, tap the waveform button to view the waveform. Hit + to add a second layer. You can now switch between layers with the 1 and 2 buttons.
Tap the Record button and capture your audio. You’ll now see a layered voice memo in your recording list, indicated by a layers icon that looks like a stack of squares.
After recording, you can easily adjust how your layers sound together. Select your recording, tap the waveform again, and then the edit button that looks like a bunch of sliders. Use the Layer Mix slider to adjust the balance between the two layers to achieve your desired sound.
If you’d prefer to edit or listen to each layer separately, tap the … button, then choose Separate Layers. Each layer will then appear independently in your memo list for individual editing or playback.
Note that while creating layered recordings is only possible on iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, playback of layered recordings works on any device running iOS 18.2 or later. Splitting the recording up will enable all devices to play back the layers.