How do I add a voiceover to an iPhone or iPad screen recording?

The built-in way: talk while you record

iPhone and iPad can record your microphone along with the screen. The steps are the same on both (iPhone, iPad):

1. Swipe down from the top-right corner to open Control Center.
2. Touch and hold the Screen Recording button, then tap Microphone to turn it on.
3. Tap Start Recording, wait for the three-second countdown, and talk as you work.

This is the quickest route, and it suits an informal demo. It has two costs. You have to do the task and explain it at the same time, so one stumble means starting over. And the voice is stuck to the recording. To change one sentence, you record it all again or edit the audio in a video editor.

Add the voiceover afterwards, one step at a time

Narrating afterwards splits those two jobs. Record the task silently, turn it into steps, then talk over one step at a time. In Walkthru, Redo step retakes only the step you are on. A guide made from screenshots works the same way, even though nothing was ever recorded.

Say what the picture cannot

A good voiceover tells the viewer what to do, why a choice matters, and how to tell it worked. Reading out every label on the screen buries the instruction.

Compare these two lines:

• “Here is the order screen, and there are three items.” This describes the picture.
• “Choose the item you are returning, and check its name before you go on.” This explains the task.

Name a control when the viewer needs to find it. Finish the steps before you record your voice. If you remove or reorder steps later, record the narration again.

A script pattern for each step

Ask three questions as you prepare:

1. Action: what should the viewer do now?
2. Decision: what do they need to check or choose?
3. Result: what shows the action worked?

Not every step needs all three. “Tap Return items” is enough when the next screen is obvious. A final “send” or “pay” step deserves a check first and a clear confirmation after.

Example script for the site’s Alder return demo (use your own app’s labels):

Picture	What you say
Order details	“Open Return items to choose what you are sending back.”
Item selection	“Choose Return beside the mugs. Check the item before you continue.”
Reason field	“Describe the problem. This example uses: One mug arrived chipped.”
Note written	“When the note says what went wrong, tap Send.”
Confirmation card	“Check the refund details, then choose Send return.”
Completed request	“Return started confirms that the request was submitted.”

Record in Walkthru

1. In export, choose Video reel, then Add narration.
2. Tap Prepare walkthrough. Walkthru renders the steps you will talk over.
3. Tap Start recording. A count-in from three gives you a moment to get ready.
4. Explain the step on screen, then tap Next. Use Pause to stop for a moment and Redo step to retake the current step.
5. At the last step, tap Finish, then Use this narration.

Say each instruction after its picture appears, not before. If a viewer hears “Tap Send” while the previous screen is still up, they have to remember it instead of following it. Leave a short pause at each decision so the viewer can find the control.

Record somewhere quiet, and listen to a short test before a long tutorial.

What moves and what stays still

When a guide comes from a recording, the video can play the real footage of each step. Some steps are always still pictures instead:

• Steps from screenshots stay on the picture while the markers animate.
• Steps with a redaction stay still, so private content cannot move out from under the cover.
• Steps whose picture you replaced use the new picture, not the old footage.

On a narrated step, your voice sets how long the step lasts. Check the pacing in the finished file.

Check the finished video

Watch the whole MP4 and check that:

• the control you name matches the screen;
• each marker points at the right place;
• no explanation is cut short or lands on the wrong step;
• your voice is clear throughout, including after a pause or a retake;
• nothing private appears in the picture or in what you say;
• the last step tells the viewer how they know they are done.

A redaction covers the picture, not your voice. If you said a name or an account number aloud, record that step again.

Give viewers the steps in writing too

Some viewers cannot play sound, and some just want to look up one step. Export a PDF or Markdown version of the same guide, or write the key steps next to the video. Walkthru does not add subtitles to the video; its text labels are for short cues on the picture. If you need synchronized captions, add them with a captioning tool.

To choose between a document, a video or both, see screenshot guide or video tutorial.