Finally, iPhones Can Shoot Video While Playing Music

Every time I record a video, or so much as go to the video tab in my iPhone's camera app, the phone automatically pauses whatever music I'm listening to. This made sense in the iPhone's early days, where you wouldn't want any audio from the speaker interfering with the recording. However, the world has changed a lot, earbuds exist, and it no longer makes any sense to forcibly stop people from listening to music while recording videos. With iOS 18, Apple will let you play music even when videos are being recorded.

Why you might want audio while recording videos

If you're listening to music on your AirPods, it wouldn't interfere with the video recording in any way to keep it playing. If you have an always-on speaker setup that you power with your phone, you might not want to disturb your ambiance just because your cat is being cute. Whatever your reason, you should be able to continue listening to music or audiobooks while recording.

How to record videos when audio is playing in iOS 18

Setting this feature up just takes a couple of easy steps. The most important is having iOS 18, which is currently available in a public beta. Note that installing a beta could expose your phone to instability, so it's best to keep it to a backup device when possible.

Once you've upgraded your OS, go to Settings > Camera > Record Sound, and enable Allow Audio Playback. This will let you play audio even when you're recording videos. You'll have to get used to any sound from your speakers being audible in your recording—a good next step for Apple might be letting us only allow audio when external sound systems are connected.

Play audio while recording video in iOS 17

For older versions of iOS, such as iOS 17, there is a workaround that also lets you record while listening to music. For this, you'll need to record a QuickTake video. As the name suggests, QuickTake allows you to quickly capture a video without navigating to your iPhone's video tab. To use it, open the Camera app and hold the shutter button. It'll turn red and your iPhone will begin recording a video. Release the button to stop recording. You can drag the red button to the lock icon to continue recording the video without holding the button. QuickTake is available on iPhone XS and newer models.