One of the many longstanding complaints from creators on iPadOS is the lack of flexibility around recording and routing audio. It’s made it so that it’s been difficult to impossible for podcasters to record a podcast on iPad without resorting to hacky hardware workarounds or web-based solutions.

iPadOS 26 goes a long way in addressing some, but not all, of the common audio-related complaints around the iPad. (Note: These improvements also apply to the iPhone with iOS 26.)

Local Recording with Local Capture

A common podcasting workflow is for each participant on a video call to record their own audio track locally, then send it to an editor to be merged into a single, edited track. Until now, iPadOS made that nearly impossible to do while using apps like FaceTime, Zoom, or Riverside.

iPadOS 26 introduces Local Capture, a new feature that solves this. Once added to Control Center, the Local Capture control lets you start recording from your current audio input source with a single tap. By default, recordings are saved to the Downloads folder in the Files app. In developer beta 1, I am unable to change the app or location the recording goes to.

Not to worry if you aren’t using headphones while recording (though you probably should be), iPadOS applies echo cancellation to the recording to try to remove background sounds, only focus on your voice.

System-Level Input Selection

iPadOS has long supported external USB microphones and headsets, but users and developers had no way to manually change the active audio input source. The OS would generally, but not always, default to the last device plugged in.

That changes in iPadOS 26. Now, when you open an app that records audio, an audio selector appears at the top of Control Center. Tapping it reveals a full input picker, letting you select from all connected input devices.

Even better: iPadOS remembers your input choice on a per-app or per-website basis, so you won’t need to keep switching it manually.

This new input control complements the existing audio output selector introduced in iPadOS 18, finally giving iPad users a baseline level of audio flexibility long taken for granted on traditional operating systems.

What’s Left?

The last notable audio-related complaint I encounter is a solution for one audio source interrupting another unintentionally. I mostly see this when listening to music while browsing an app like Reddit. It decides to turn on the audio for ads, and then my music pauses every few seconds as I scroll.

I’m not sure if the solution is to have an option where multiple audio sources can play at the same time, or if Apple can find a more clever solution, but it would be a great quality-of-life improvement to find a way to improve this experience.