Unlock Stunning Shots on Your iPhone 15 with This Simple Camera Setting

The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro have been in the hands of buyers for a few weeks now. During this time, an overheating bug was identified and fixed. However, there are still some remaining issues with the phones. One of these issues involves a camera setting that can distort voices in video recordings. Fortunately, fixing this problem is as simple as making a few adjustments in the Settings app.

Several iPhone models are capable of recording stereo audio during video recordings. This is achieved by utilizing multiple microphones, mainly located at the bottom and earpiece of the phone, to capture more realistic sound. Additionally, when you zoom in or out of the camera, the sound changes to mimic the physical movement of the camera and its microphone. The desired outcome of this feature is to amplify the audio from the zoom target. However, it does not always function effectively, especially if you are speaking from behind the iPhone while zooming the camera.

YouTube creator DankPods recently addressed an issue in a recent video regarding his recording experience with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The embedded video below (jump to 5:07) demonstrates how the effect deteriorates when speaking during recording. This mode causes notable fluctuations in voice volume across varying zoom levels.

Apple is likely attempting to simulate the audio produced by a camera moving back and forth, which generally works satisfactorily when there is no audio originating from behind the phone. However, it does not handle narration very well. I managed to reproduce this issue using test recordings on my regular Apple iPhone 15 (not the Pro or Pro Max versions).

Fortunately, you can disable stereo sound capture in the settings, which will eliminate the zoom sound effect. To do this, open the Settings app on your iPhone, go to Camera > Record Stereo Sound, and toggle it off. Alternatively, searching for "Record Stereo Sound" within the Settings app will also direct you to the correct location.

DankPods also discussed a few additional default camera settings that were generating suboptimal outcomes. These include the Auto FPS function and automatic lens switching. Typically, these features have logical implications; the default video recording setting is not set at 60FPS, and the only drawback of lens switching is inadequate image stabilization for the ultra-wide lens. However, it may still be worthwhile to explore these options, depending on your video recording preferences.