external mics with iOS Safari are hit and miss

[steveseguin]

I've confirmed that this can work, although it's very specific to the device.

I ordered the: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07Q49SVYR/ 3.5mm headphone adapter for my iPhone 11 (didn't come with one) This adapter is "Apple MFI Certified" and has "audio&mic function, in line control including volume control, calling support". Perhaps these adapters need to have some code in them that says "I am a headset", versus something else.

anyways

I connected to it my Saramonic smartrig XLR to 3.5mm TRRS mic preamp (with Senn 416 xlr mic)

I connected it to the iPhone first, tested that it worked using the native audio recording app , and then went to OBS.Ninja and iPhone Microphone was the option I picked.

It worked. I improved the audio quality by setting &stereo=1 as well.

I also noticed that when I unplugged the mic, it automatically switched back to the internal microphone. And vice-versa -- plugging it back in switched back to the XLR external mic.

I noticed that when I turned off the Saramonic mic (+48 off), the iPhone switched back to the internal microphone despite the external microphone being still plugged in.

To add to the confusion though, I borrowed a headphone adapter for my friend's iPhone and it did NOT WORK with their adapter. It's possible it's an older or cheaper model, or a non-official model that does not support microphone inputs.

Regardless, there is only one microphone option that you can pick in OBS.Ninja, and Apple gets to choose which microphone actually is used it seems.