Device management

Overview

The Swift SDK abstracts device management into DeviceManager.shared, so you don’t have to piece together platform differences from scratch for device enumeration, hot-plug monitoring, and audio session interruption handling. Common needs include:

Enumerating cameras, microphones, and speakers
Letting the user switch devices manually
Monitoring device plug and unplug events
Recovering after an interruption on iOS such as an incoming call or Siri

Enumerate devices

Enumerate cameras

let cameras = DeviceManager.shared.cameras()

macOS: enumerate microphones and speakers

let microphones = DeviceManager.shared.microphones()
let speakers = DeviceManager.shared.speakers()

iOS: enumerate audio input ports

let inputs = DeviceManager.shared.audioInputs()

This returns the input ports currently available to AVAudioSession (built-in microphone, Bluetooth, wired headset, and so on).

iOS doesn’t have the independent output device model of desktop systems, so this list doesn’t include the speaker. “Whether sound comes out of the speaker or the receiver” is a separate mechanism—see Audio routing.

Generic query

If you want to build a single device-picker UI layer, you can also use:

let allDevices = DeviceManager.shared.getDevices()
let camerasOnly = DeviceManager.shared.getDevices(kind: .videoInput)

Switch cameras

For an existing LocalCameraTrack, you can switch to a specific device directly:

try await cameraTrack.changeDeviceId(deviceId)

To switch between the front and back cameras on iOS, use:

try await cameraTrack.switchCamera()

The key point: the switch happens inside the track object, so you don’t need to create a new LocalCameraTrack.

Switch microphones or audio routes

macOS

try micTrack.changeDeviceId(deviceId)

iOS

try micTrack.changeDeviceId(deviceId)

The call looks the same, but the meaning differs:

macOS: switches the input device
iOS: switches the input port (AVAudioSession.setPreferredInput); deviceId comes from audioInputs()

On iOS this method only handles input. It can’t be used to switch between the speaker and the receiver, and it doesn’t accept values like "speaker". For output, use AudioRouteSession.shared.setAudioRoute(_:)—see Audio routing.Also, this path doesn’t take part in the audio routing module’s fallback policy, and the switch isn’t recorded as an “explicit user choice”.

Switch speakers on macOS

On macOS, output device switching goes through DeviceManager:

try DeviceManager.shared.setOutputDevice(deviceId)

This is separate from microphone switching because the output device isn’t bound to LocalMicTrack; it’s bound to the output path of the underlying audio module.

Monitor device changes

final class DeviceState: DeviceManagerDelegate {
    init() {
        DeviceManager.shared.delegates.add(delegate: self)
    }

    func deviceManager(_ manager: DeviceManager, didAddDevice device: DeviceInfo) {
        print("device added:", device.name)
    }

    func deviceManager(_ manager: DeviceManager, didRemoveDevice device: DeviceInfo) {
        print("device removed:", device.name)
    }
}

Recommended approach:

In the callback, only refresh the local device list state
Have the UI layer update its dropdown or picker automatically based on the new device list

Automatic recovery built into the SDK

The Swift SDK already handles several common recovery cases internally:

When the camera in use is unplugged, it tries to switch to an available camera
On macOS, when the microphone in use is unplugged, it tries to switch back to the default input
On iOS, after the audio session is interrupted by an incoming call or similar, it recovers when conditions allow (including waiting for the system call to end and retrying on failure—see Audio routing)
On iOS, camera capture can recover when the app returns to the foreground after going to the background

This means you usually don’t need to build a full set of fault-tolerance logic yourself, but we still recommend that you:

Show error messages to the user
Refresh the UI after the device list changes
Don’t cache stale deviceId values

Recommended approach in your app

Recommended approach:

Call refreshDeviceList() when the page initializes
Save the currently selected deviceId
After a device change, if the original deviceId no longer exists, fall back to the default device automatically

This matters because in hot-plug scenarios, “an old device ID still lingering in local state” is the root cause of many switching failures.

Overview

Web SDK

Android SDK

Swift SDK (iOS/macOS)

C SDK (server/embedded)

Python SDK (server-side AI)

Server API

Overview

Enumerate devices

Enumerate cameras

macOS: enumerate microphones and speakers

iOS: enumerate audio input ports

Generic query

Switch cameras

Switch microphones or audio routes

macOS

iOS

Switch speakers on macOS

Monitor device changes

Automatic recovery built into the SDK

Recommended approach in your app

​Overview

​Enumerate devices

​Enumerate cameras

​macOS: enumerate microphones and speakers

​iOS: enumerate audio input ports

​Generic query

​Switch cameras

​Switch microphones or audio routes

​macOS

​iOS

​Switch speakers on macOS

​Monitor device changes

​Automatic recovery built into the SDK

​Recommended approach in your app

Overview

Enumerate devices

Enumerate cameras

macOS: enumerate microphones and speakers

iOS: enumerate audio input ports

Generic query

Switch cameras

Switch microphones or audio routes

macOS

iOS

Switch speakers on macOS

Monitor device changes

Automatic recovery built into the SDK

Recommended approach in your app