This Apple iOS Feature Makes iPhone Calls Sound Much Better

Apple released iOS 18 to the general public on Sept. 16, a week after the company announced its new iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10 and more at its September event. The update brings new features to your iPhone including customizable home screens and upgrades to Messages. But in 2023, Apple released iOS 16.4, introducing a feature that significantly improves the sound quality of your calls: Voice Isolation.

While Apple had already added Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum to FaceTime calls with iOS 15 in 2021, only Voice Isolation is currently available for regular phone calls.

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 an active phone call, as the feature isn’t located in Settings. Once activated, Voice Isolation will remain on for all future calls unless you manually turn it off.

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

How to enable Voice Isolation

1. Tap your Phone app.
2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.
3. Tap Phone Controls near the top of your screen.
4. Tap Voice Isolation.

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

What is Wide Spectrum?

Voice Isolation is enabled and the setting is highlighted — Apple/Screenshot by CNET

Next to Voice Isolation in Phone Controls, you’ll also find 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. Since the feature is still present in Phone Controls, it could become available for phone calls in the future.

For more on iOS 18, here’s my iOS 18 review and our iOS 18 cheat sheet.