iPhone Calls Are Less Annoying With This iOS 16.4 Feature

Apple’s latest software update, iOS 16.4, brings more than a batch of new emoji to your iPhone. It also brings Voice Isolation, a handy FaceTime feature, to phone calls. Apple introduced Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum to FaceTime calls with the release of iOS 15 in 2021. Of the two, however, only Voice Isolation is available for phone calls at this time. 

When enabled, Voice Isolation muffles distracting background noises that interrupt your phone call. That way, if you’re on a business call or catching up with friends, you won’t be interrupted by your dog’s barking or construction outside your home. 

To enable Voice Isolation, you have to be on a phone call, and you won’t find the feature in Settings. But once you turn Voice Isolation on, it will stay on for all subsequent phone calls until it’s turned off.

Here’s how to activate and disable Voice Isolation for phone calls.

How to enable Voice Isolation

1. Start or answer a phone call.

2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.

3. Tap Mic Mode near the top-right corner of your screen. 

4. Tap Voice Isolation. 

Pro tip: Instead of turning this feature on during a call with someone else, you can call yourself and enable Voice Isolation by following the steps above.

To disable Voice Isolation, follow the same steps above and tap Standard in Mic Mode. This will return your microphone back to its default setting.

What is Wide Spectrum?

Alongside Voice Isolation in Mic Mode is Wide Spectrum. Unlike Voice Isolation — which muffles background sounds — Wide Spectrum amplifies background sounds without affecting your voice.

Wide Spectrum is useful for calls with multiple people on one phone line. That way, everyone can be heard, not just the person holding the phone. 

Currently, Wide Spectrum is only available for FaceTime calls, not phone calls. But, since the feature is still present in Mic Mode when accessed during a phone call, this feature might become available for phone calls in the future. 

For more, check out other new features in iOS 16.4, how to turn Voice Isolation on in FaceTime calls and what might be coming to iOS 16.5.

First published on March 30, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. PT.