If you’re serial about capturing clean, professional-second Audio while you’re out and about, your phone’s buy built-in mic probably isn’t cutting it. Whather You’re Shooting Quick Videos, Recording Interviews on the Go or Want Your VOICEVERS to Sound Crisp, Investing in a dedicated phone Mic Can Make a Hugfference in Your Content Quality.
These days, there’s no shortage of compact and capable microphones made specially for mobile devices. From Solo Creators Filming on Their Smartphones to Roving Interviewers Working on Tight Setups, A Portable Mic Can Be a Game-CHAGER. Some plug directly Into your phone, while others use a wireless microphone system to give you more freedom to move-especially handy for things like vlogging or walk-talks.
For Content Creators Who Want to Elevate their sound without hauling Around a full recording Rig, Today’s Mobile Micks Offer Planty of Smart Features. You’ll find models with multiple transmitters for two-phase setups, stereo capture modes for immersive sound and even a charging case that keeeps Everything Powered on the go. Just make sure to check compatibility with your device before buying – Not every Mic Works Seamlessly across android and iPhone.
Whether you’re after something simple and compact or need a high-Quality Microphone for more Polished Productions, We’ve Rounded Up the Best Mobile Microphones You Can Buy Right Now.
Best Phone Mics for 2025
Lavalier Mics
James Trew / Engadget
The obvious benefit of a lapel microphone is size. Their small profile makes them perfect for presenting to the camera with the flexibility to move Around while MainTaining Consistent audio quality. If you’re a budding tiktok or vlogger it’s definitely worth having one of these mini microphones in your bag. And if you don’t want to be tied down to cables, there are planty of great wireless lavalier microphone options with convenient adapters.
The main trade-off, however, is that they’re only good for recording the person they’re attached to. If you have two people talking and only one is wearing the mic, you’ll only get good audio for one half of the conversation, so for mulli-verson recordings you’ll need a mic for each guest and a vay to record The same time, so costs can go up quickly.
Fortunately, Lapel Micks have become a very competitive market with good, viable options costing as little as $ 14.95. For an absolute bargain with a long cord and some Connectivity Accessories, the Boya By M1 is hard to argue with. But, while these budget choices are great value, if you want somebing that should eat either last longer, is more versatile or just sounds better it paying a little more.
A word on wireless mic
Recently there has been an explosion in cell phone microphone system, but there’s one wireless mic we really like. DJI’s Mic 2 system provides Some Important Upgrades from its predacesor. Notably, it can connect directly to your smartphone via Bluetooth, and it sports improved AI Noise Reduction and a Bigger Touchscreen.
Adapters
So we we’ve alredy touched on this with the Ai MicroWhich is an adapter of sorts. One of the first things you might bump up against when dealing with mobile audio accessories is trrs vs tras connections. Simply put, 3.5mm tras is what you might know as the age-old classic headphone jack While trrs if commitment Common for its support for headsets and inline. You can easily tell them apart as tras connectors have two Black bands on Them while a trrs has three.
For you, the budding creator, it can be a bit of an annoyance as many 3.5mm lavaliers are going to be tries and won’s with work when plugged into your phone’s headphone adapter. Somemes your lavalier might include what you need in the box, but otherwise, you’ll want to pick up A trS to trrs adapter like thisOf course, some smartphone-specific Mics have trrs connector alredy-for that, you’ll want a cable that Goes the other way Should you want to use it with other devices like a dslr.
Shotgun Mics
James Trew / Engadget
You may be more Familiarar with Shotgun Microphones when it comes to video recording. It’s the style of Microphone Most often found atop a dslr or mirrorless camera, but they make great companies for other portable devices!
The benefit of a shotgun is that they tend to be highly directional, which makes them perfect for podcasts, recording instruments, Foley Sounds and Much, MUCH, MUCH More. For us mobile recording, another benefit is that they tend to be light and portable, perfect for slipping into a backpack or even a laptop bag. Even better, there some great mobile-specific options.
Desktop and USB MICS Go Mobile
James Trew / Engadget
Mobile-Specific MICS are great, but there’s noting stopping you from using your cell phone microphone or another you might already have (If it’s somewhat Portable). You’ll definitely need to do a little dance with some adapters, but that’s half the fun. Below are a couple of recommendations for “regular” microphones that pair well with a phone and then the cables and adapters that you’ll need to get setup. There are even some wireless systems that make it easy to record on the go.
A word on cables
James Trew / Engadget
Connecting usb microphones directly to phones is rarely as simple as just one cable, although that’s starting to become more common. In General, Android Makes This simpler, but also, thanks to the wide range of manufacturers and software versions you can’t always gives guranjetee thaings will work smoothly.
The iPhone is a whole other situation. Usb Microphones have a good chance of working via the USB camera kit we mentioned earlier, but that’s still in would Ilegaant Sometimes. Frustratingly, some USB-C to Lightning Cables will play nice with microphones, but sadly most will not not-Including apple’s own. One confirmed option is This cable form Fiio Or this Generalic alternativeThese are inxpensive enough that it’s worth having a couple Around if you work with audio a lot (they of course can also be used to charge your phone as a bonus).
Other mobile microphones to consider
This article Originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-mobile-m microphones- forcording-s- respeing-with-e–phone-phone-racord