Use your iPhone as a mic and sing along on Apple TV
Apple Music Sing in tvOS 26 now supports singing into your iPhone karaoke style, plus there’s a classic visualizer effect. Here’s how it all works.
When Apple revealed the updated Apple Music Sing mode during the WWDC 2025 keynote, it seemed like a fairly straightforward feature update. However, after testing out the feature firsthand, it seems there’s a lot more to it than just a mic feature.
After updating to tvOS 26, you should immediately notice a new app icon added to the Home Screen. It’s an icon called “Sing,” but all it does is launch Apple Music to the new Sing tab.
Thankfully, you can turn off the separate icon via Settings.
- Select Settings
- Select Apps, then Music
- Toggle the Sing App to Hide
To get started with mic mode, you’ll have to configure the 2022 Apple TV 4K correctly. Apple Music Sing’s mic mode only works when using the TV speakers or wired audio system.
That means if the Apple TV 4K is hooked up through a receiver or connected to a TV that outputs audio via a wired or eARC audio system, you’re good to go. But if you’re using HomePods or an AirPlay speaker as permanent speakers, you’ll have to disconnect them to use the new mic mode.
Now that it’s set up, let’s dive into the new features.
Apple Music Sing with mic
Open Apple Music, pick a song, and it’ll open the Now Playing screen automatically. There should be a group of several icons in the bottom left of the display, one of them a microphone with a “+” next to it.
Clicking that microphone icon should stop whatever is playing and show a QR code. Some users should get a notification to join on their iPhone without even scanning the QR code.
If you don’t see a mic button, but see the SharePlay button with active users (a 1 or higher number next to the symbol), click that and end the SharePlay session. Only then will the mic button appear.
Once everyone is connected, they’ll see a “Continuity Microphone” App Clip open on their iPhone.
Everyone that isn’t singing will have a grid of emoji to tap and show reactions on the TV. There’s also an option to manage the upcoming song queue and add songs they’d like to sing.
The people singing will have buttons that control song vocal volume and mic reverb effects. Choose any song with lyrics and you’ll be able to start singing along.
Apple has a dedicated Apple Music Sing section, which is where playlists with songs optimized with note-to-note synced lyrics reside. It seems that any song with lyrics will work with the Sing function, so there’s no need to stick to that section.
Additional perks hidden in Apple Music Sing
Okay, you’ve got your karaoke party going, but there are a few additional features available if you know where to look. One of them is a classic visualizer hidden within Apple Music Sing.
It’s odd, because there doesn’t seem to be anything special about the visualizer effects, but the option only appears when the mic mode is active. Go to the ellipsis menu on the right side with mic mode active (meaning at least one user connected with their iPhone), and you’ll see a “Visual Effects” option.
Click that, and there are four options: none, Stellar, Neon, and Sparkle. My personal favorite is Neon, which pulses slightly to the beat as neon triangles fly by.
The visualizer effect will stay active as long as you’re in mic mode. Try to connect to AirPlay or HomePods, and everything will stop.
There’s a chance that users can’t combine the features due to a lack of processing power. Expect a new Apple TV 4K that can do it all sometime in the next year.
One other honorable mention isn’t exactly exclusive to Apple Music Sing, but it’s going to be great for karaoke. The new Live Translation feature brings pronunciation guides to select lyrics with foreign characters.
So, belt it out to your favorite anime opening or K-pop hit with a little help from romanized lettering. You’ll still need to know a little bit about how the syllables should be pronounced, but it’s a big help.
Apple Music Sing was first revealed in 2022 as a feature that turned down the lyrics so users could sing along. It always felt odd that it didn’t include some kind of microphone function, but now it’s finally here.
Hopefully, Apple continues to iterate on the feature. Karaoke is a very popular pastime all over the world, and I’d rather use my iPhone and Apple TV than spend hundreds on a karaoke machine.
