Video review: Aputure A.Lyra iPhone mic

With Apple’s latest iphone now having no headphone jack, anyone wishing to plug in a microphone now needs to look to the Lightning connector instead.

Addressing this, Aputure have brought out the A.Lyra, a tieclip mic that plugs directly into the phone or ipad through that tiny port.

Inside the packaging is a rather sturdy plastic case which contains the mic and its interface and cables. Whilst a nice box shouldn’t be the be all and end all, it’s still rather pleasing when you get one. Inside, there’s the mic, a decent length of cable and the silver audio interface.

Usefully two buttons marked “+” and “-” are headphone volume controls, the interface having a 3.5mm jack on the end so you can monitor as you record, provided that your recording software enables this and that does depend on what software you use.

A rather conspicuous white furry windjammer is included, with an unusual pullstring method of tying it securely over the entire mic, including the foam popshield.

Finally, there’s the wire that goes from the interface’s USB-C to the Apple’s Lightning port.

It’s all very straightforward – plug the cable into the iPhone or iPad, the other end into the silver interface, clip on the mic and you’re away. But how does it sound? Take a listen to the video for a couple of samples.

Conclusion: with decent sound, a low price and no need for batteries as the power comes from the phone, the A.Lyra does seem to address the issue of audio recording on a headphoneless phone.