Since the iPhone 13, Apple smartphones no longer offer noise reduction options during traditional phone calls. This is making a comeback, under the name of voice isolation. But beware, it is not available on all models.
Good call quality on a smartphone is essential. But in this little game, not all phones are created equal. Apple iPhones are often known for their good quality. In January 2022, the American media 9to5mac alerted to the disappearance of a practical feature on the new iPhones.
The “disappearance” of noise reduction
Indeed, from the iPhone 13, Apple has simply removed the “noise reduction” function. A decision which therefore also concerns the iPhone 14. This has never been formalized by the Apple brand, except through online support. We still find traces of this function on the Apple site, but not in the new iPhones. This allowed toimprove the sound quality perceived by the owner of the iPhone. So nothing to do with noise reduction in the classic sense, which allows the interlocutor at the end of the line to do not hear ambient noise.
Apple describes it like this: Uses air pressure to reduce ambient background sounds so you can hear better while the receiver is glued to your ear during calls in certain noisy environments. Noise reduction is available and enabled by default on iPhone 12 and later, and can be disabled for your convenience ».
It would therefore seem that this function is limited to the iPhone 12 only… Unless it is now activated by default and it is impossible to deactivate it. Which is also an entirely possible option.
The arrival of voice isolation for everyone (or almost)
Perhaps to better ease the pill, Apple plans to add a new call quality improvement feature. This will arrive with iOS 16.4 as relayed MacRumors and takes the name of voice isolation. Does that tell you something? It’s normal, it is already present in iOS… but only for VOIP calls (FaceTime, WhatsApp, etc.) and not classic telephone calls as we had already noticed.
The great novelty is therefore the support for voice isolation with conventional calls on cellular networks (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.). But on closer inspection, it does not do the same thing as the “noise reduction” function at all. Here’s how Apple defines “voice isolation”:If you want to be heard clearly during a FaceTime call and have other sounds filtered out, you can activate the “Voice Isolation” mode (available on compatible models). This mode emphasizes the sound of your voice during a FaceTime call and blocks out surrounding noise..
The difference between the two functions
We can therefore see a big difference: the “noise reduction” function filters the ambient noise of the owner of the iPhone so that he can hear his interlocutor better, in order to be focused on his call. Conversely, the “voice isolation” function removes ambient noise from the iPhone so that the interlocutor at the end of the line does not hear them.
And as we can see in this video published on the occasion of the release of iOS 15, the voice isolation function is really powerful. It completely removes noise from crowds, hair dryers, or loud music playing around the iPhone.
Take the case of a concert: during a call with an iPhone, the “noise reduction” function would allow the person present in the concert hall to hear less noise from the music. Conversely, the “voice isolation” function will allow the interlocutor at the other end of the line not to hear the music at all in the best of cases.
The list of compatible iPhones
But beware, this new function is not compatible with all Apple iPhones. The list of compatible models is available on the Apple site, and includes all smartphones from the iPhone XS of 2019 to the iPhone 14 through the iPhone XR and the second generation iPhone SE.
This new feature will therefore arrive with iOS 16.4, currently in beta state. This will bring more new features, such as new emojis, always-on consumption display, but also web push notifications.
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