If you’ve got an iPhone X, you can now control GarageBand’s instruments and effects with your face

By Ben Rogerson
last updated

Update gives your glower some power

(Image credit: PhotoAlto/REX/Shutterstock)

As well as unveiling a new iPad, Apple pushed out a point release update to GarageBand for iOS yesterday. This offers just a few minor tweaks for most users - there’s a new Toy Box pack of educational sound effects and a Modern Wah guitar stompbox effect - but if you happen to own an iPhone X, version 2.3.3 is rather more significant.

The curious news is that you can now adjust effect and instrument parameters using your face. This is thanks to the iPhone X’s TrueDepth camera and ARKit face-tracking features. We can’t imagine that this will become your primary method of control – as far as we know there’s no way to assign specific parameters to certain facial movements - but it’s an interesting move nonetheless, and could point the way to further developments in this area.

You can download the update on the Apple App Store (opens in new tab). GarageBand for iOS is free.

Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.