Complete format list
This page is a cheat sheet - every audio and video format the Audio Editor supports, and when to pick which.
Input and output are two different sets: the app can read 10 audio formats, but only writes 4. Videos are read-only and aren't opened directly by the editor.
Audio input formats (10)
The editor opens these 10 audio files - multi-track editing, enhancement, and conversion (compress / merge) all accept them as input:
| Format | When to use |
|---|---|
| MP3 | Universal players, car systems, email attachments. Default pick. |
| WAV | Lossless master, ideal for mixing, archival, or re-editing. |
| M4A | The container version of AAC, common in the Apple ecosystem. |
| AAC | Apple ecosystem default, great detail at small size. |
| FLAC | Lossless but compressed - roughly half the size of WAV. |
| OGG | Open-source container, preferred by some professional players. |
| Opus | Modern low-latency codec, common in voice meetings, podcasts, and streaming. |
| AIFF | macOS / Logic ecosystem default, lossless. |
| AMR | Early mobile call-recording format, 3GPP standard. |
| CAF | Apple Core Audio container, ideal for iOS post-processing. |
Audio output formats (4)
The editor, multi-track enhancement, and conversion can only write one of these 4 formats on export:
| Format | When to use |
|---|---|
| MP3 | Universal default, recognized by virtually every device and player. |
| WAV | Lossless master, ideal for re-editing or archival. |
| FLAC | Lossless but compressed, roughly half the size of WAV. |
| OGG | Open-source container, preferred by some professional devices. |
Video formats (8)
Video files are not opened directly by the editor. They only serve as a "source of audio tracks":
| Format | When to use |
|---|---|
| MP4 | Universal, recognized by virtually every device and player. |
| MOV | Apple ecosystem default - iMovie, Final Cut, Logic all take it. |
| M4V | iTunes-era video container, behaves like MP4 on Apple devices. |
| AVI | Old-school container, best compatibility with legacy Windows apps. |
| MKV | Open-source container, can hold multiple audio tracks and subtitles. Good for HD archival. |
| WebM | Common web video format, open source. |
| FLV | Old Flash-era streaming format, useful for legacy footage. |
| WMV | Windows Media Video, Windows ecosystem. |
How to choose
- Universal sharing -> MP3 audio, MP4 video
- Second pass in the Apple ecosystem -> MOV video
- Lossless archival -> WAV or FLAC audio
- Web or open-source workflows -> OGG audio, WebM video
Videos aren't edited
The editor's timeline only accepts audio clips. Video files can only act as a "track source" - the editor itself does not cut them.
Fully local
Whether audio or video, all decoding, encoding, and rewriting happens on the iPhone. Files never leave the device.