Do you want to record without touching your phone? iPhones support voice recording controls that allow for hands-free video recording on an iPhone. Read on to learn how you can record on your iPhone hands free.
Using Voice Commands to Start and Stop Video Recording
The easiest way to start and stop video recording on an iPhone is to use Voice Control. In your settings, go to Accessibility > Voice Control and ensure that Voice Control is turned on.
Then, after turning it on, click on “Customize Commands.” Click on “Create New Command,” and type in “Record” as the phrase.
Then, click on “Action” and select “Run a Custom Gesture.” Press on the area of the screen where the record button usually is when using the camera. This mimics activating the video recording feature when using the camera. Then, click on “Save” in the top-right corner.
Go back and click on “Application” and select “Camera.”
Then, you can say “Siri, open camera” to open the camera. To start recording, simply say, “Record,” and it will start recording! Since you set up voice control to press on the button when you say the phrase “record,” it will record automatically.
Setting Up Siri Shortcuts for Quick Video Access
Another option is using the Shortcuts app on your iPhone to create a shortcut for your camera.
In the Shortcuts app, go to All Shortcuts and click on the plus (+) sign in the top-right corner. Click on “Add Action” and select “Camera.”
Then, choose video as the mode you want to open when you launch the camera and name the shortcut “Record.” Next to the shortcut in the Shortcuts app, click on “Add” and select “Add to Siri.”
Then, you can say “Siri, open Record” and it will launch your camera in video mode! You will still need to press the record button for it to record a video, but it’s a lot faster!
Note that you can press and drag the shutter button to the right to continue recording hands-free instead of continually pressing down on the shutter button.
Using the Timer for Hands-Free Recording
If you want to take a photo and not a video hands-free, you can use the iPhone’s camera timer to snap a picture hands-free with the timer. This sets a countdown timer of three or 10 seconds. Instead of taking a picture immediately after pressing the shutter button, it will wait the specified time before taking the picture. That allows you time to get in position and take the picture you want to take.
How to Enable and Use Screen Recording with Audio
Your iPhone has a built-in screen recorder that allows for screen recording with your mic. You can record your iPhone screen by using this recorder.
One way to do that is to access it from the Control Center. Swipe to open the Control Center. If you haven’t yet added the Screen Recorder option to the Control Center, click on the plus icon and click on the option to add a control. Search for the Screen Recorder and add it. Then, you can access it from the Control Center at any time! You can also say “Siri, start recording my screen” for hands-free screen recording.
Recording Audio Hands-Free on iPhone (Without Holding the Button)
Using the Memos app on your iPhone, you can record voice messages. Note that you don’t have to keep on holding the button continually to keep recording. You can press on it once to start recording and press on it again to stop the recording.
However, you can also use Voice Control to start recording hands free when the Voice Memos app is launched, similar to what I taught you to do for recording a video hands free. It just depends which app you have opened. So, you can use Siri to open the Memos app and then use Voice Controls to mimic a gesture on your screen that would press the recording button.
Troubleshooting: What to Do if Voice or Hands-Free Recording Isn’t Working
If Siri is not working, or if the voice commands you set up are not working, try restarting your phone and updating to the latest version of iOS. You might also want to delete the custom voice control and add it again. If you touched in the wrong area of the screen when setting up the custom gesture, it won’t activate your camera. It has to be where the shutter button is when the camera is open.
Best Uses for Hands-Free Video Recording
Hands-free video recording is a great iPhone content creation tool. It is useful in many instances. For example, you can use the shutter timer control to take a group picture by setting the phone on a table, using a book as a stand, and then taking the picture. You can use Voice Control commands for taking hands-free group videos, for example, or when recording yourself dancing, unboxing, playing an instrument, or doing anything else that requires two hands.
Conclusion
I hope that this hands-free iPhone recording guide was useful and showed you the best ways to control your iPhone camera with your voice. Using a combination of shortcuts, Siri, and Voice Control commands, you can really set up your iPhone to do whatever you want using your voice.
