Since the iPhone 13, Apple smartphones no longer offer noise reduction options when making traditional calls. This is making a comeback under the name Voice Isolation. But beware, it is not available on all models.
Source: Frandroid – Chloé Pertuis
Good call quality on a smartphone is essential. But in this little game, not all phones are the same. Apple iPhones are often known for their good quality. In January 2022, American media 9to5mac warned about the disappearance of a very useful feature on the new iPhones.
The “disappearance” of noise reduction
In fact, Apple simply removed the noise reduction feature from the iPhone 13. A decision that therefore also affects the iPhone 14. This has never been formalized by the Apple brand except through online support. We can still find traces of this feature on the Apple side, but not in the new iPhones. This allowedImproving the sound quality perceived by the iPhone owner.
As Apple describes it, “Uses air pressure to reduce ambient noise so you can hear better while taped 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 therefore appears that this feature is limited to the iPhone 12 only… Unless it is now enabled by default and cannot be disabled. Which is also a very possible option.
The arrival of language 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 leaked by MacRumors and hangs up the name of the language isolator. Does that ring a bell? It’s normal, it’s already present in iOS… but only for VOIP calls (FaceTime, WhatsApp, etc.) and not for classic calls, as we had already discovered.
It doesn’t work everywhere, but when it does, the Voice Isolation feature detonates // Source: Nathan Le Gohlisse for Frandroid
The big novelty is therefore the support for voice isolation in traditional calls on mobile networks (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.). But upon closer inspection, it doesn’t do the same thing as the Noise Reduction feature at all. Here’s how Apple defines “Voice Isolation”: “If you want to be heard clearly during a FaceTime call and filter out other noise, you can turn on 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
So we see a big difference: the “Noise Reduction” function filters out the ambient noise of the iPhone owner so that he can hear his interlocutor betterto focus on his call. Conversely, the “Voice Isolation” function removes ambient noise from the iPhone with it the caller 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 feature is really powerful. It completely removes noise from crowds, hair dryers or loud music playing around iPhone.
Let’s take the case of a concert: During a conversation with the iPhone, the “Noise Reduction” function would ensure that the person present in the concert hall heard less noise from the music. Conversely, the “Voice Isolation” function ensures that the person you are talking to at the other end of the line does not hear the music at all.
The list of compatible iPhones
But beware, this new feature is not compatible with all Apple iPhones. The list of compatible models is available on Apple’s website and includes all smartphones from 2019 iPhone XS to iPhone 14, iPhone XR and second generation iPhone SE.
This new feature will therefore be available with iOS 16.4, which is currently in beta status. This brings other new features, such as new emojis, the display of consumption in “always-on” but also web push notifications.
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