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Camera become black for few propduction users during photo capture
PLATFORM AND VERSION :iOS 18.5 I wanted to bring to your attention a critical issue some of our production users are experiencing with the CoinOut app. Specifically, users are encountering a problem when attempting to capture photos of receipts using the app's customized camera feature. The camera, which utilizes AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer and AVCaptureDevice, occasionally fails to load the preview, resulting in a black screen instead of the expected camera view. This camera blackout issue is significantly impacting the user experience as it prevents them from snapping photos of their receipts, which is a core functionality of the CoinOut app. Any help/suggestion to this issue would be greatly appreciated. STEPS TO REPRODUCE Open the app and click on camera icon. It will display camera to capture photo. Camera shows black for few production user's. class ViewController: UIViewController { @IBOutlet private weak var captureButton: UIButton! private var fillLayer: CAShapeLayer! private var previewLayer : AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer! private var output: AVCapturePhotoOutput! private var device: AVCaptureDevice! private var session : AVCaptureSession! private var highResolutionEnabled: Bool = false private let sessionQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "session queue") override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() setupCamera() customiseUI() } @IBAction func startCamera(sender: UIButton) { didTapTakePhoto() } private func setupCamera() { let session = AVCaptureSession() session.sessionPreset = AVCaptureSession.Preset.high previewLayer = AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer(session: session) output = AVCapturePhotoOutput() device = AVCaptureDevice.default(.builtInWideAngleCamera, for: AVMediaType.video, position: .back) if let device = self.device{ do{ let input = try AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: device) if session.canAddInput(input){ session.addInput(input)} else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Session Input addition failed") } if session.canAddOutput(output){ output.isHighResolutionCaptureEnabled = self.highResolutionEnabled session.addOutput(output) } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Session Input high resolution failed") } previewLayer.videoGravity = .resizeAspectFill previewLayer.session = session sessionQueue.async { session.startRunning() } self.session = session self.session.accessibilityElementIsFocused() try device.lockForConfiguration() if device.isWhiteBalanceModeSupported(AVCaptureDevice.WhiteBalanceMode.autoWhiteBalance) { device.whiteBalanceMode = .autoWhiteBalance } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : isWhiteBalanceModeSupported no supported") } if device.isWhiteBalanceModeSupported(AVCaptureDevice.WhiteBalanceMode.continuousAutoWhiteBalance) { device.whiteBalanceMode = .continuousAutoWhiteBalance } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : isWhiteBalanceModeSupported no supported") } if device.isFocusModeSupported(.continuousAutoFocus) { device.focusMode = .continuousAutoFocus} else if device.isFocusModeSupported(.autoFocus) { device.focusMode = .autoFocus } device.unlockForConfiguration() } catch { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : \(error.localizedDescription)") } } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Device found as nil") } } private func customiseUI() { let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.view.bounds.width, height: self.view.bounds.height), cornerRadius: 0) let rectangleWidth = view.frame.width - (view.frame.width * 0.16) let x = (view.frame.width - rectangleWidth) / 2 let rectangleHeight = view.frame.height - (view.frame.height * 0.16) let y = (view.frame.height - rectangleHeight) / 2 let roundRect = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: x, y: y, width: rectangleWidth, height: rectangleHeight), byRoundingCorners:.allCorners, cornerRadii: CGSize(width: 0, height: 0)) roundRect.move(to: CGPoint(x: self.view.center.x , y: self.view.center.y)) path.append(roundRect) path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true fillLayer = CAShapeLayer() fillLayer.path = path.cgPath fillLayer.fillRule = .evenOdd fillLayer.opacity = 0.4 previewLayer.addSublayer(fillLayer) previewLayer.frame = view.bounds view.layer.addSublayer(previewLayer) view.bringSubviewToFront(captureButton) } private func didTapTakePhoto() { let settings = self.getSettings(camera: self.device) if device.isAdjustingFocus { do { try device.lockForConfiguration() device.focusMode = .continuousAutoFocus device.unlockForConfiguration() device.addObserver(self, forKeyPath: "adjustingFocus", options: [.new], context: nil) } catch { print(error) } } else { output.capturePhoto(with: settings, delegate: self) } } func getSettings(camera: AVCaptureDevice) -> AVCapturePhotoSettings { var settings = AVCapturePhotoSettings() if let rawFormat = output.availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes.first { settings = AVCapturePhotoSettings(rawPixelFormatType: OSType(rawFormat)) } settings.isHighResolutionPhotoEnabled = self.highResolutionEnabled let previewPixelType = settings.availablePreviewPhotoPixelFormatTypes.first! let previewFormat = [kCVPixelBufferPixelFormatTypeKey as String: previewPixelType] as [String : Any] settings.previewPhotoFormat = previewFormat return settings } } extension ViewController: AVCapturePhotoCaptureDelegate { func photoOutput(_ output: AVCapturePhotoOutput, willCapturePhotoFor resolvedSettings: AVCaptureResolvedPhotoSettings) { AudioServicesDisposeSystemSoundID(1108) } func photoOutput(_ output: AVCapturePhotoOutput, didFinishProcessingPhoto photo: AVCapturePhoto, error: Error?) { guard let data = photo.fileDataRepresentation() else { return } let image = UIImage(data: data)! showImage(cropped: image) } func showImage(cropped: UIImage) { let vc = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "ImagePreviewViewController") as? ImagePreviewViewController vc?.captured = cropped self.present(vc!, animated: true) } }```
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245
Jul ’25
AVPlayer unpredictable range requests on iOS when streaming *.mov file
Hi all, I'm trying to diagnose and resolve an issue with stuttering video playback using the standard AVPlayer. The video in question is a 4K, 39-second file in *.mov format, being played on an iOS device. It's served via a local HTTP server that proxies requests to a backend to fetch and process the content. The project uses end-to-end encrypted storage, which necessitates the proxy for handling data processing. While playback in offline scenarios is smooth, we are encountering issues with smooth playback during streaming. The same video streams smoothly on other platforms using the same connection, so network limitations are not a factor. On iOS, playback is consistently choppy, with pauses every 1-3 seconds. The video does not appear to buffer adequately for smooth playback. One particularly curious aspect is the seemingly random pattern of Content-Range requests made by the AVPlayer when streaming the video. Below is an example of the range requests:
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568
Apr ’25
How can third-party iOS apps obtain real-time waveform / spectrogram data for Apple Music tracks (similar to djay & other DJ apps)?
Hi everyone, I’m working on an iOS MusicKit app that overlays a metronome on top of Apple Music playback. To line the clicks up perfectly I’d like access to low-level audio analysis data—ideally a waveform / spectrogram or beat grid—while the track is playing. I’ve noticed that several approved DJ apps (e.g. djay, Serato, rekordbox) can already: • Display detailed scrolling waveforms of Apple Music songs • Scratch, loop or time-stretch those tracks in real time That implies they receive decoded PCM frames or at least high-resolution analysis data from Apple Music under a special entitlement. My questions: 1. Does MusicKit (or any public framework) expose real-time audio buffers, FFT bins, or beat markers for streaming Apple Music content? 2. If not, is there an Apple program or entitlement that developers can apply for—similar to the “DJ with Apple Music” initiative—to gain that deeper access? 3. Where can I find official documentation or a point of contact for this kind of request? I’ve searched the docs and forums but only see standard MusicKit playback APIs, which don’t appear to expose raw audio for DRM-protected songs. Any guidance, links or insider tips on the proper application process would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance.
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651
Dec ’25
AVAudioPlayer/SKAudioNode audio no longer plays after interruption
Hi 👋! We have a SpriteKit-based app where we play AVAudio sounds in three different ways: Effects (incl. UI sounds) with AVAudioPlayer. Long looping tracks with AVAudioPlayer. Short animation effects on the timeline of SpriteKit's SKScene files (effectively SKAudioNode nodes). We've found that when you exit the app or otherwise interrupt audio plays, future audio plays often fail. For example, there's a WebKit-based video trailer inside the app, and if you play it, our looping background music track (2.) will stop playing, and won't resume as you close the trailer (return from WebKit). This is probably due to us not manually restarting the track (so may well be easily fixed). Periodically played AVAudioPlayer audio (1.) are not affected. However, the more concerning thing is that the audio tracks on SKScene file timelines (3.) will no longer play. My hypothesis is that AVAudioEngine gets interrupted, and needs to be restarted for those AVAudioNode elements to regain functionality. Thing is, we don't deal with AVAudioEngine at all currently in the app, meaning it is never initiated to begin with. Obviously things return to normal when you remove the app from short-term memory and restart it. However, it seems many of our users aren't doing this, and often report audio failing presumably due to some interruption in the past without the app ever being cleared from memory. Any idea why timeline-run SKAudioNodes would fail like this? Should the app react to app backgrounding/foregrounding regarding audio? Any help would be very much appreciated ✌️!
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220
May ’25
Playing Apple Fairplay encrypted content on iOS 26
For iOS17 we've had no problem playing Apple Fairplay encrypted content with keys delivered from our key server running on FairPlay Streaming Server SDK 5.1 and subsequently FairPlay Streaming Server SDK 26. It's built and deployed using Xcode Version 26.1.1 (17B100) with no changes to the code and - as expected - the content continued to be successfully decrypted and played (so far so good). However, as soon as a device was updated to iOS26, that device would no longer play the encrypted content. Devices remaining on iOS17 continue to work normally and the debugging logs are a sanity-check that proves that. Is anyone else experiencing this issue? Here's the code (you should be able to drop it into a fresh iOS Xcode project and provide a server url, content url and certificate).
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263
Dec ’25
MPNowPlayingInfoCenter nowPlayingInfo throttled
Hello, I have been running into issues with setting nowPlayingInfo information, specifically updating information for CarPlay and the CPNowPlayingTemplate. When I start playback for an item, I see lock screen information update as expected, along with the CarPlay now playing information. However, the playing items are books with collections of tracks. When I select a new track(chapter) within the book, I set the MPMediaItemPropertyTitle to the new chapter name. This change is reflected correctly on the lock screen, but almost never appears correctly on the CarPlay CPNowPlayingTemplate. The previous chapter title remains set and never updates. I see "Application exceeded audio metadata throttle limit." in the debug console fairly frequently. From that a I figured that I need to minimize updates to the nowPlayingInfo dictionary. What I did: I store the metadata dictionary in a local dictionary and only set values in the main nowPlayingInfo dictionary when they are different from the current value. I kick off the nowPlayingInfo update via a task that initially sleeps for around 2 seconds (not a final value, just for my current testing). If a previous Task is active, it gets cancelled, so that only one update can happen within that time window. Neither of these things have been sufficient. I can switch between different titles entirely and the information updates (including cover art). But when I switch chapters within a title, the MPMediaItemPropertyTitle continues to get dropped. I know the value is getting set, because it updates on the lock screen correctly. In total, I have 12 keys I update for info, though with the above changes, usually 2-4 of them actually get updated with high frequency. I am running out of ideas to satisfy the throttling thresholds to accurately display metadata. I could use some advice. Thanks.
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234
May ’25
[AVPlayerItemVideoOutput initWithPixelBufferAttributes:] output attributes setting not work
My app want Converting iphone12 HDR Video to SDR,to edit。 follow the doc Apple-HDR-Convert. My code setting the pixBuffAttributes        [pixBuffAttributes setObject:(id)(kCVImageBufferYCbCrMatrix_ITU_R_709_2) forKey:(id)kCVImageBufferYCbCrMatrixKey];       [pixBuffAttributes setObject:(id)(kCVImageBufferColorPrimaries_ITU_R_709_2) forKey:(id)kCVImageBufferColorPrimariesKey];       [pixBuffAttributes setObject:(id)kCVImageBufferTransferFunction_ITU_R_709_2 forKey:(id)kCVImageBufferTransferFunctionKey];       playerItemOutput = [[AVPlayerItemVideoOutput alloc] initWithPixelBufferAttributes:pixBuffAttributes]; but I get the playerItemOutput's output buffer   CFTypeRef colorAttachments = CVBufferGetAttachment(pixelBuffer, kCVImageBufferYCbCrMatrixKey, NULL);     CFTypeRef colorPrimaries = CVBufferGetAttachment(pixelBuffer, kCVImageBufferColorPrimariesKey, NULL);     CFTypeRef colorTransFunc = CVBufferGetAttachment(pixelBuffer, kCVImageBufferTransferFunctionKey, NULL);      NSLog(@"colorAttachments = %@", colorAttachments);     NSLog(@"colorPrimaries = %@", colorPrimaries);     NSLog(@"colorTransFunc = %@", colorTransFunc); log output: colorAttachments = ITU_R_2020 colorPrimaries = ITU_R_2020 colorTransFunc = ITU_R_2100_HLG pixBuffAttributes setting output format invalid,please help!
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847
Nov ’25
Unable to play audio via MusicKit
Hey folks, I'm running into an odd issue suddenly with an app that had a working MusicKit integration before. I'm using ApplicationMusicPlayer to play Apple Music albums and songs. I'm testing on a physical device, signed in to Apple ID, and with a valid subscription. Apple Music via the first-party app works entirely fine on this device. Attempting to play back any content at all gives the log: <ICUserIdentityStoreACAccountBackend: 0x1070bf3e0> Failed to initialize primary apple account, error=Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store} [ICUserIdentityStore] - initializing account histories with activeAccountDSID = nil, activeLockerAccountDSID = nil, timestamp = 14605951908 [ICUserIdentityStore] Failed to fetch local store account with error: Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store}. The album artwork, track names, etc, all appear in the control center playback controls, but the music doesn't play. Trying to trigger playback with control center just results in it skipping to the next track, which doesn't play either. This exact code used to work. I have the MusicKit service selected in Apple Connect. Since this isn't entitlement-based, I'm not sure how else to check that I'm set up correctly. I've tried deleting/reinstalling the app, restarting the device, cleaning/rebuilding, and deleting DerivedData, to no avail. Any help? Running Xcode 16.4 (16F6), testing on iOS 18.5 (22F76)
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182
Jun ’25
Attaching color properties to CVPixelBufferRef
I believe this should work: CFMutableDictionaryRef attrs = CFDictionaryCreateMutable(kCFAllocatorDefault, 0, &kCFTypeDictionaryKeyCallBacks, &kCFTypeDictionaryValueCallBacks); CFDictionaryAddValue(attrs, kCVImageBufferColorPrimariesKey, kCVImageBufferColorPrimaries_ITU_R_709_2); CFDictionaryAddValue(attrs, kCVImageBufferTransferFunctionKey, kCVImageBufferTransferFunction_ITU_R_709_2); CFDictionaryAddValue(attrs, kCVImageBufferYCbCrMatrixKey, kCVImageBufferYCbCrMatrix_ITU_R_709_2); CVPixelBufferRef pixelBuffer = NULL; CVPixelBufferCreate(kCFAllocatorDefault, width, height, kCVPixelFormatType_32ARGB, attrs, &pixelBuffer); assert(CFDictionaryGetCount(CVBufferGetAttachments(pixelBuffer, kCVAttachmentMode_ShouldPropagate)) > 0); But that last assert fails, so it appears the color info does not get attached. kCVImageBufferColorPrimariesKey and the others are not one of the keys listed under BufferAttributeKeys, but I think they're supposed to be allowed because they're listed by CMVideoFormatDescriptionGetExtensionKeysCommonWithImageBuffers(). I'm hoping that putting the color matrix info in there will control how AVAssetWriter converts the RGB to YCbCr.
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413
Nov ’25
PhotosPickerItem.itemIdentifier always nil
I'm using the SwiftUI Photos Picker to select videos from the users Photos library and then opening the video using the PhotosPickerItem. I'm looking for a way to allow the user to open the same video on their other devices as the app uses SwiftData and CloudKit to provide access to a recently watched list of videos. The URL from the PhotosPickerItem appears to be device specific and so I was looking to see if I can use the itemIdentifier and then the init that takes the itemIdentifier to create the PhotosPickerItem on the other devices. The itemIdentifier however is always nil and so wouldn't be able to be used in this way. Is there an alternative approach whereby the users can open a video using a PhotosPickerItem and that item would be viewable on their other devices with an item identifier or a URL that is device agnostic. This approach should also not involve copying the video into other storage as it would simply expand the use of the users iCloud storage, providing a less than ideal user experience. If the user has opened the video from their Photos library, there should be a way to allow the same user (e.g. same Apple ID), to use the same app on another device to open the video again.
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726
Nov ’25
AsyncPublisher for AVPlayerItem not working
Hello, I'm trying to subscribe to AVPlayerItem status updates using Combine and it's bridge to Swift Concurrency – .values. This is my sample code. struct ContentView: View { @State var player: AVPlayer? @State var loaded = false var body: some View { VStack { if let player { Text("loading status: \(loaded)") Spacer() VideoPlayer(player: player) Button("Load") { Task { let item = AVPlayerItem( url: URL(string: "https://sample-videos.com/video321/mp4/360/big_buck_bunny_360p_5mb.mp4")! ) player.replaceCurrentItem(with: item) let publisher = player.publisher(for: \.status) for await status in publisher.values { print(status.rawValue) if status == .readyToPlay { loaded = true break } } print("we are out") } } } else { Text("No video selected") } } .task { player = AVPlayer() } } } After I click on the "load" button it prints out 0 (as the initial status of .unknown) and nothing after – even when the video is fully loaded. At the same time this works as expected (loading status is set to true): struct ContentView: View { @State var player: AVPlayer? @State var loaded = false @State var cancellable: AnyCancellable? var body: some View { VStack { if let player { Text("loading status: \(loaded)") Spacer() VideoPlayer(player: player) Button("Load") { Task { let item = AVPlayerItem( url: URL(string: "https://sample-videos.com/video321/mp4/360/big_buck_bunny_360p_5mb.mp4")! ) player.replaceCurrentItem(with: item) let stream = AsyncStream { continuation in cancellable = item.publisher(for: \.status) .sink { if $0 == .readyToPlay { continuation.yield($0) continuation.finish() } } } for await _ in stream { loaded = true cancellable?.cancel() cancellable = nil break } } } } else { Text("No video selected") } } .task { player = AVPlayer() } } } Is this a bug or something?
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225
Jun ’25
MusicKit for Android reports an error when playing stations
我在使用 musicKit SDK for Android 1.1.2 时,发现 MediaContainerType 只定义了三种类型: 无 = 0; 专辑 = 1; 播放列表 = 2; 未定义 RADIO_STATION 类型。 但是,com.apple.android.music.playback.model 的文档指出支持 RADIO_STATION 类型。 此问题在我传入 stations ID 后会导致错误: MediaSessionManager com.apple.android.music.sdk.testapp D onPlaybackError() Quincy java.io.IOException 请问如何解决这个问题?
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89
May ’25
LockedCameraCaptureExtension and Sharing User Preferences
I have the main app that saves preferences to UserDefaults.standard. So I have this one preference that the user is able to toggle - isRawOn UserDefaults.standard.set(self.isRawOn, forKey: "isRawOn") Now, I have LockedCameraCaptureExtension which is required know if that above setting on or off during launch. Also if it's toggled within the extension, the main app should know about it on the next launch. The main app and the extension runs on separate containers and the preferences are not shared due to privacy reasons. Apple mentions of using appContext of CameraCaptureIntent, but not sure how above scenario is possible through that....unless I am missing something. Apple Reference What I have for CameraCaptureIntent: @available(iOS 18, *) struct LaunchMyAppControlIntent: CameraCaptureIntent { typealias AppContext = MyAppContext static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "LaunchMyAppControlIntent" static let description = IntentDescription("Capture photos with MyApp.") @MainActor func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { .result() } }
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628
Nov ’25
Live Photos created with PHLivePhoto API show "Motion not available" when setting as wallpaper
I'm creating Live Photos programmatically in my app using the Photos and AVFoundation frameworks. While the Live Photos work perfectly in the Photos app (long press shows motion), users cannot set them as motion wallpapers. The system shows "Motion not available" message. Here's my approach for creating Live Photos: // 1. Create video with required metadata let writer = try AVAssetWriter(outputURL: videoURL, fileType: .mov) let contentIdentifier = AVMutableMetadataItem() contentIdentifier.identifier = .quickTimeMetadataContentIdentifier contentIdentifier.value = assetIdentifier as NSString writer.metadata = [contentIdentifier] // Video settings: 882x1920, H.264, 30fps, 2 seconds // Added still-image-time metadata at middle frame // 2. Create HEIC image with asset identifier var makerAppleDict: [String: Any] = [:] makerAppleDict["17"] = assetIdentifier // Required key for Live Photo metadata[kCGImagePropertyMakerAppleDictionary as String] = makerAppleDict // 3. Generate Live Photo PHLivePhoto.request( withResourceFileURLs: [photoURL, videoURL], placeholderImage: nil, targetSize: .zero, contentMode: .aspectFit ) { livePhoto, info in // Success - Live Photo created } // 4. Save to Photos library PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset().addResource(with: .photo, fileURL: photoURL, options: nil) PHAssetCreationRequest.forAsset().addResource(with: .pairedVideo, fileURL: videoURL, options: nil) What I've Tried Matching exact video specifications from Camera app (882x1920, H.264, 30fps) Adding all documented metadata (content identifier, still-image-time) Testing various video durations (1.5s, 2s, 3s) Different image formats (HEIC, JPEG) Comparing with exiftool against working Live Photos Expected Behavior Live Photos created programmatically should be eligible for motion wallpapers, just like those from the Camera app. Actual Behavior System shows "Motion not available" and only allows setting as static wallpaper. Any insights or workarounds would be greatly appreciated. This is affecting our users who want to use their created content as wallpapers. Questions Are there additional undocumented requirements for Live Photos to be wallpaper-eligible? Is this a deliberate restriction for third-party apps, or a bug? Has anyone successfully created Live Photos that work as motion wallpapers? Environment iOS 17.0 - 18.1 Xcode 16.0 Tested on iPhone 16 Pro
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477
Aug ’25
Creating RTP-MIDI Sessions via MIDINetworkSession C API (dlopen/dlsym) on macOS 15?
I’m an amateur developer working on a free utility for composers/producers, for which the macOS release needs to create and name RTP-MIDI sessions in Audio MIDI Setup from the command line (so I can ship a small C helper instead of telling users to click through the UI). Here’s what I’ve tried so far, without luck: • Plist hacks: Injecting entries into ~/Library/Audio/MIDI Configurations/*.mcfg works when AMS is closed, but AMS immediately locks and reverts my changes when it’s open. • CoreMIDI C API: I can create virtual ports with MIDISourceCreate, but attempting MIDIObjectGetDataProperty on the apple.midirtp.session plugin always returns err –10836. • Obj-C & Swift: Loading MIDINetworkSession and calling defaultSession, init, setNetworkName: and setting enabled = YES doesn’t produce a new session object in the Network panel. • dlopen/dlsym: I extracted the real CoreMIDI binary out of the dyld shared cache and tried binding _MIDINetworkSessionCreate, _SetName, _SetEnabled, etc., but all the symbols come back null or my tool segfaults. • Plugin registration: I’ve pulled the factory UUID (70C9C5EA-7C65-11D8-B317-000393A34B5A) from /System/Library/Extensions/AppleMIDIRTPDriver.plugin/Contents/Info.plist and called CFPlugInRegisterFactories, but it still never exposes the session-creation calls. At this point I’m convinced I’m either loading the wrong binary or missing one critical step in registering the RTP-MIDI plugin’s private API. Can anyone point me to: The exact path of the dylib or bundle that actually exports the MIDINetworkSessionCreate/MIDINetworkSessionSetName/MIDINetworkSessionSetEnabled symbols? A minimal working snippet (C or Obj-C) that reliably creates and names a Network-MIDI session? Any pointers, sample code, or even ideas about where Apple hides this functionality on macOS 15 would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!
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238
Jun ’25
Issues with "AVMetricEventStreamPublisher Discover Media Performance Metrics in AVFoundation" Example Code
Hi everyone! I’ve been working with AVFoundation and trying to use the AVMetricEventStreamPublisher to discover media performance metrics, as described in the Apple documentation. https://developer.apple.com/cn/videos/play/wwdc2024/10113/?time=508 However, when following the example code, I’m not getting the expected results. The performance metrics for both audio and video don’t seem to be captured properly. Has anyone successfully used this example code? If so, could you share your experience or any solutions you’ve found? Any tips or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Ps. the example code: AVPlayerItem *item = ... AVMetricEventStream *eventStream = [AVMetricEventStream eventStream]; id subscriber = [[MyMetricSubscriber alloc] init]; [eventStream setSubscriber:subscriber queue:mySerialQueue] [eventStream subscribeToMetricEvent:[AVMetricPlayerItemLikelyToKeepUpEvent class]]; [eventStream subscribeToMetricEvent:[AVMetricPlayerItemPlaybackSummaryEvent class]]; [eventStream addPublisher:item];
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232
Nov ’25
Accessing External Timecode from Blackmagic ProDock in Custom App
Hi everyone, I’m exploring using the iPhone 17 Pro with the Blackmagic ProDock in a custom capture app. The genlock functionality seems accessible via AVExternalSyncDevice and related APIs, which is great. I’m specifically curious about external timecode coming in from the ProDock: • Is there a public way to access the timecode feed in a custom app via AVFoundation or another Apple API? • If so, what is the recommended approach to read or apply that timecode during capture? • Are there any current limitations or entitlements required to access timecode from ProDock in a third-party app? I’m excited to start integrating synchronized capture in my app, and any guidance or sample patterns would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! — [Artem]
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321
Oct ’25
Control system video effects support for CMIO extension
We're distributing a virtual camera with our app that does not profit in the slightest from automatically applied system video effects both to the video going in (physical camera device) or out (virtual camera device). I'm aware of setting NSCameraReactionEffectGesturesEnabledDefault in Info.plist and determining active video effects via AVCaptureDevice API. Those are obviously crutches, because having to tell users to go look for and click around in menu bar apps is the opposite of a great UX. To make our product's video output more deterministic, I'm looking for a way to tell the CMIO subsystem that our virtual camera does not support any of the system video effects. I'm seeing properties like AVCaptureDevice.Format.isPortraitEffectSupported and AVCaptureDevice.Format.isStudioLightSupported whose documentation refers to the format's ability to support these effects. Since we're setting a CMFormatDescription via CMIOExtensionStreamSource.formats I was hoping to find something in the extensions, but wasn't successful so far. Can this be done?
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313
Nov ’25
Camera become black for few propduction users during photo capture
PLATFORM AND VERSION :iOS 18.5 I wanted to bring to your attention a critical issue some of our production users are experiencing with the CoinOut app. Specifically, users are encountering a problem when attempting to capture photos of receipts using the app's customized camera feature. The camera, which utilizes AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer and AVCaptureDevice, occasionally fails to load the preview, resulting in a black screen instead of the expected camera view. This camera blackout issue is significantly impacting the user experience as it prevents them from snapping photos of their receipts, which is a core functionality of the CoinOut app. Any help/suggestion to this issue would be greatly appreciated. STEPS TO REPRODUCE Open the app and click on camera icon. It will display camera to capture photo. Camera shows black for few production user's. class ViewController: UIViewController { @IBOutlet private weak var captureButton: UIButton! private var fillLayer: CAShapeLayer! private var previewLayer : AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer! private var output: AVCapturePhotoOutput! private var device: AVCaptureDevice! private var session : AVCaptureSession! private var highResolutionEnabled: Bool = false private let sessionQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "session queue") override func viewDidLoad() { super.viewDidLoad() setupCamera() customiseUI() } @IBAction func startCamera(sender: UIButton) { didTapTakePhoto() } private func setupCamera() { let session = AVCaptureSession() session.sessionPreset = AVCaptureSession.Preset.high previewLayer = AVCaptureVideoPreviewLayer(session: session) output = AVCapturePhotoOutput() device = AVCaptureDevice.default(.builtInWideAngleCamera, for: AVMediaType.video, position: .back) if let device = self.device{ do{ let input = try AVCaptureDeviceInput(device: device) if session.canAddInput(input){ session.addInput(input)} else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Session Input addition failed") } if session.canAddOutput(output){ output.isHighResolutionCaptureEnabled = self.highResolutionEnabled session.addOutput(output) } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Session Input high resolution failed") } previewLayer.videoGravity = .resizeAspectFill previewLayer.session = session sessionQueue.async { session.startRunning() } self.session = session self.session.accessibilityElementIsFocused() try device.lockForConfiguration() if device.isWhiteBalanceModeSupported(AVCaptureDevice.WhiteBalanceMode.autoWhiteBalance) { device.whiteBalanceMode = .autoWhiteBalance } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : isWhiteBalanceModeSupported no supported") } if device.isWhiteBalanceModeSupported(AVCaptureDevice.WhiteBalanceMode.continuousAutoWhiteBalance) { device.whiteBalanceMode = .continuousAutoWhiteBalance } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : isWhiteBalanceModeSupported no supported") } if device.isFocusModeSupported(.continuousAutoFocus) { device.focusMode = .continuousAutoFocus} else if device.isFocusModeSupported(.autoFocus) { device.focusMode = .autoFocus } device.unlockForConfiguration() } catch { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : \(error.localizedDescription)") } } else { print("\(#fileID):\(#function):\(#line) : Device found as nil") } } private func customiseUI() { let path = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: self.view.bounds.width, height: self.view.bounds.height), cornerRadius: 0) let rectangleWidth = view.frame.width - (view.frame.width * 0.16) let x = (view.frame.width - rectangleWidth) / 2 let rectangleHeight = view.frame.height - (view.frame.height * 0.16) let y = (view.frame.height - rectangleHeight) / 2 let roundRect = UIBezierPath(roundedRect: CGRect(x: x, y: y, width: rectangleWidth, height: rectangleHeight), byRoundingCorners:.allCorners, cornerRadii: CGSize(width: 0, height: 0)) roundRect.move(to: CGPoint(x: self.view.center.x , y: self.view.center.y)) path.append(roundRect) path.usesEvenOddFillRule = true fillLayer = CAShapeLayer() fillLayer.path = path.cgPath fillLayer.fillRule = .evenOdd fillLayer.opacity = 0.4 previewLayer.addSublayer(fillLayer) previewLayer.frame = view.bounds view.layer.addSublayer(previewLayer) view.bringSubviewToFront(captureButton) } private func didTapTakePhoto() { let settings = self.getSettings(camera: self.device) if device.isAdjustingFocus { do { try device.lockForConfiguration() device.focusMode = .continuousAutoFocus device.unlockForConfiguration() device.addObserver(self, forKeyPath: "adjustingFocus", options: [.new], context: nil) } catch { print(error) } } else { output.capturePhoto(with: settings, delegate: self) } } func getSettings(camera: AVCaptureDevice) -> AVCapturePhotoSettings { var settings = AVCapturePhotoSettings() if let rawFormat = output.availableRawPhotoPixelFormatTypes.first { settings = AVCapturePhotoSettings(rawPixelFormatType: OSType(rawFormat)) } settings.isHighResolutionPhotoEnabled = self.highResolutionEnabled let previewPixelType = settings.availablePreviewPhotoPixelFormatTypes.first! let previewFormat = [kCVPixelBufferPixelFormatTypeKey as String: previewPixelType] as [String : Any] settings.previewPhotoFormat = previewFormat return settings } } extension ViewController: AVCapturePhotoCaptureDelegate { func photoOutput(_ output: AVCapturePhotoOutput, willCapturePhotoFor resolvedSettings: AVCaptureResolvedPhotoSettings) { AudioServicesDisposeSystemSoundID(1108) } func photoOutput(_ output: AVCapturePhotoOutput, didFinishProcessingPhoto photo: AVCapturePhoto, error: Error?) { guard let data = photo.fileDataRepresentation() else { return } let image = UIImage(data: data)! showImage(cropped: image) } func showImage(cropped: UIImage) { let vc = self.storyboard?.instantiateViewController(withIdentifier: "ImagePreviewViewController") as? ImagePreviewViewController vc?.captured = cropped self.present(vc!, animated: true) } }```
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AVPlayer unpredictable range requests on iOS when streaming *.mov file
Hi all, I'm trying to diagnose and resolve an issue with stuttering video playback using the standard AVPlayer. The video in question is a 4K, 39-second file in *.mov format, being played on an iOS device. It's served via a local HTTP server that proxies requests to a backend to fetch and process the content. The project uses end-to-end encrypted storage, which necessitates the proxy for handling data processing. While playback in offline scenarios is smooth, we are encountering issues with smooth playback during streaming. The same video streams smoothly on other platforms using the same connection, so network limitations are not a factor. On iOS, playback is consistently choppy, with pauses every 1-3 seconds. The video does not appear to buffer adequately for smooth playback. One particularly curious aspect is the seemingly random pattern of Content-Range requests made by the AVPlayer when streaming the video. Below is an example of the range requests:
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Tvos 18 (Show When Muted and Show on Skip Back)
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How can third-party iOS apps obtain real-time waveform / spectrogram data for Apple Music tracks (similar to djay & other DJ apps)?
Hi everyone, I’m working on an iOS MusicKit app that overlays a metronome on top of Apple Music playback. To line the clicks up perfectly I’d like access to low-level audio analysis data—ideally a waveform / spectrogram or beat grid—while the track is playing. I’ve noticed that several approved DJ apps (e.g. djay, Serato, rekordbox) can already: • Display detailed scrolling waveforms of Apple Music songs • Scratch, loop or time-stretch those tracks in real time That implies they receive decoded PCM frames or at least high-resolution analysis data from Apple Music under a special entitlement. My questions: 1. Does MusicKit (or any public framework) expose real-time audio buffers, FFT bins, or beat markers for streaming Apple Music content? 2. If not, is there an Apple program or entitlement that developers can apply for—similar to the “DJ with Apple Music” initiative—to gain that deeper access? 3. Where can I find official documentation or a point of contact for this kind of request? I’ve searched the docs and forums but only see standard MusicKit playback APIs, which don’t appear to expose raw audio for DRM-protected songs. Any guidance, links or insider tips on the proper application process would be hugely appreciated! Thanks in advance.
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AVAudioPlayer/SKAudioNode audio no longer plays after interruption
Hi 👋! We have a SpriteKit-based app where we play AVAudio sounds in three different ways: Effects (incl. UI sounds) with AVAudioPlayer. Long looping tracks with AVAudioPlayer. Short animation effects on the timeline of SpriteKit's SKScene files (effectively SKAudioNode nodes). We've found that when you exit the app or otherwise interrupt audio plays, future audio plays often fail. For example, there's a WebKit-based video trailer inside the app, and if you play it, our looping background music track (2.) will stop playing, and won't resume as you close the trailer (return from WebKit). This is probably due to us not manually restarting the track (so may well be easily fixed). Periodically played AVAudioPlayer audio (1.) are not affected. However, the more concerning thing is that the audio tracks on SKScene file timelines (3.) will no longer play. My hypothesis is that AVAudioEngine gets interrupted, and needs to be restarted for those AVAudioNode elements to regain functionality. Thing is, we don't deal with AVAudioEngine at all currently in the app, meaning it is never initiated to begin with. Obviously things return to normal when you remove the app from short-term memory and restart it. However, it seems many of our users aren't doing this, and often report audio failing presumably due to some interruption in the past without the app ever being cleared from memory. Any idea why timeline-run SKAudioNodes would fail like this? Should the app react to app backgrounding/foregrounding regarding audio? Any help would be very much appreciated ✌️!
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Get device Voice Isolation status via Core Audio?
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Playing Apple Fairplay encrypted content on iOS 26
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MPNowPlayingInfoCenter nowPlayingInfo throttled
Hello, I have been running into issues with setting nowPlayingInfo information, specifically updating information for CarPlay and the CPNowPlayingTemplate. When I start playback for an item, I see lock screen information update as expected, along with the CarPlay now playing information. However, the playing items are books with collections of tracks. When I select a new track(chapter) within the book, I set the MPMediaItemPropertyTitle to the new chapter name. This change is reflected correctly on the lock screen, but almost never appears correctly on the CarPlay CPNowPlayingTemplate. The previous chapter title remains set and never updates. I see "Application exceeded audio metadata throttle limit." in the debug console fairly frequently. From that a I figured that I need to minimize updates to the nowPlayingInfo dictionary. What I did: I store the metadata dictionary in a local dictionary and only set values in the main nowPlayingInfo dictionary when they are different from the current value. I kick off the nowPlayingInfo update via a task that initially sleeps for around 2 seconds (not a final value, just for my current testing). If a previous Task is active, it gets cancelled, so that only one update can happen within that time window. Neither of these things have been sufficient. I can switch between different titles entirely and the information updates (including cover art). But when I switch chapters within a title, the MPMediaItemPropertyTitle continues to get dropped. I know the value is getting set, because it updates on the lock screen correctly. In total, I have 12 keys I update for info, though with the above changes, usually 2-4 of them actually get updated with high frequency. I am running out of ideas to satisfy the throttling thresholds to accurately display metadata. I could use some advice. Thanks.
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May ’25
[AVPlayerItemVideoOutput initWithPixelBufferAttributes:] output attributes setting not work
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Nov ’25
Unable to play audio via MusicKit
Hey folks, I'm running into an odd issue suddenly with an app that had a working MusicKit integration before. I'm using ApplicationMusicPlayer to play Apple Music albums and songs. I'm testing on a physical device, signed in to Apple ID, and with a valid subscription. Apple Music via the first-party app works entirely fine on this device. Attempting to play back any content at all gives the log: <ICUserIdentityStoreACAccountBackend: 0x1070bf3e0> Failed to initialize primary apple account, error=Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store} [ICUserIdentityStore] - initializing account histories with activeAccountDSID = nil, activeLockerAccountDSID = nil, timestamp = 14605951908 [ICUserIdentityStore] Failed to fetch local store account with error: Error Domain=ICError Code=-7013 "Client is not entitled to access account store" UserInfo={NSDebugDescription=Client is not entitled to access account store}. The album artwork, track names, etc, all appear in the control center playback controls, but the music doesn't play. Trying to trigger playback with control center just results in it skipping to the next track, which doesn't play either. This exact code used to work. I have the MusicKit service selected in Apple Connect. Since this isn't entitlement-based, I'm not sure how else to check that I'm set up correctly. I've tried deleting/reinstalling the app, restarting the device, cleaning/rebuilding, and deleting DerivedData, to no avail. Any help? Running Xcode 16.4 (16F6), testing on iOS 18.5 (22F76)
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Activity
Jun ’25
Attaching color properties to CVPixelBufferRef
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Nov ’25
PhotosPickerItem.itemIdentifier always nil
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Activity
Nov ’25
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Activity
Jun ’25
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May ’25
LockedCameraCaptureExtension and Sharing User Preferences
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Activity
Nov ’25
Live Photos created with PHLivePhoto API show "Motion not available" when setting as wallpaper
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Activity
Aug ’25
Creating RTP-MIDI Sessions via MIDINetworkSession C API (dlopen/dlsym) on macOS 15?
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Jun ’25
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Nov ’25
Accessing External Timecode from Blackmagic ProDock in Custom App
Hi everyone, I’m exploring using the iPhone 17 Pro with the Blackmagic ProDock in a custom capture app. The genlock functionality seems accessible via AVExternalSyncDevice and related APIs, which is great. I’m specifically curious about external timecode coming in from the ProDock: • Is there a public way to access the timecode feed in a custom app via AVFoundation or another Apple API? • If so, what is the recommended approach to read or apply that timecode during capture? • Are there any current limitations or entitlements required to access timecode from ProDock in a third-party app? I’m excited to start integrating synchronized capture in my app, and any guidance or sample patterns would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! — [Artem]
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Activity
Oct ’25
Control system video effects support for CMIO extension
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Nov ’25