A shortcut for every device
Assign a shortcut to each device. Shortcuts are global: they work while a call, a game, or a presentation is in full screen.
⌃⌥1
⌃⌥2
⌃⌥3
⌃⌥A
New • Menu bar app for macOS
Automatic audio switching, by your rules.
Any device, one shortcut away.
Choose which speakers, headset and microphone your Mac should use when devices connect or disconnect.
Coming soon
$7 once. No subscription, no account.
- Native Swift, ~3 MB
- No driver or system extension
- No Accessibility permission
- macOS 15+ • Apple silicon & Intel
What you get
Name your devices, order them, and hide the ones you never use.
You see what changed
When your output or input changes, a notification names the device now in use.
Rename devices and change their icons
Replace a model number with "Desk speakers." Each device can take a different icon too.
Hide devices you don't use
Virtual devices, screen-share endpoints, an unused HDMI output. A hidden device leaves the picker, the shortcut list, and the cycle order.
The mic follows the headset
Switch to a headset, and the input switches with it. SnapAudio resolves the pairing for wired jacks, USB devices that expose both directions, and wireless headsets that appear as two devices.
Devices switch in the order you set
Put your devices in the order you prefer. When one connects or disconnects, SnapAudio uses the highest available device. Output and input have their own rules, so the output can change while the input stays on the device you chose.
The picker opens at the pointer
Press a shortcut, and the device list appears at the pointer, even over full-screen apps.
The current device in the menu bar
The menu bar can show the device name, volume, mute state, and icon. Turn on only what you need.
One press, everything quiet
The microphone mute happens in the device, not in a meeting app. It covers every app at once and doesn't reset between calls.
Ways to mute
- Microphone⌃⌥M
- OutputPicker, menu bar, or shortcut
- Both at onceOne shortcut
In the menu bar
Choose how volume appears.
Ten styles. Drag the slider to see how each behaves.
Volume
62%
Common situations
Switching comes up while you're doing something else.
The call starts in ninety seconds
Headset on, sound still in the speakers, mic still the laptop's. One shortcut moves both, because the input follows the headphones.
⌃⌥2 Output and input, one press
The dog starts barking mid-sentence
Mute the microphone itself, not the meeting app: same shortcut in every call, whether or not its window is in front. The menu bar shows a badge while your microphone is muted.
⌃⌥M Muted, without leaving the call
You're three hours into a game with friends
No dropping out of full screen to reach the menu bar. The picker opens over the game, at the pointer, inputs included.
⌃⌥A The picker, on top of the game
You're recording something and it has to be right
Voice memo, podcast take, screencast: the wrong input or output means a wasted take. Set both and check the picker before you record.
⌃⌥1 The right input and output, before you press record
A headset connects and everything sounds like a phone call
Once macOS starts using a headset's microphone, the whole device switches to call mode and the sound quality drops sharply. Pin the input, and only the output follows.
Input set to Stay on current, once, in Settings
Before and after
Everyday annoyances, and how SnapAudio solves them.
You press play and nothing comes out.
Today 5 steps
- Press it again. Still nothing.
- Tap volume up a few times, just in case.
- Check whether the app itself is muted.
- Open Control Center and expand Sound to see the actual output.
- Find it on a monitor you haven't used in months.
With SnapAudio no steps
It's in the menu bar.
The menu bar shows the device, its icon and its volume, and a crossed-out speaker when it goes silent.
Someone asks you to repeat yourself for the third time. The call is on the built-in microphone, not the one you set up.
Today 4 steps
- Discover that the Sound panel in Control Center has no inputs in it.
- Open System Settings and find Sound.
- Switch to the Input tab and pick the microphone.
- Close the window and find your call again.
There is a trick: holding Option while you click the Sound icon lists inputs too.
With SnapAudio 1 step
- Press your shortcut, or click the microphone in the picker.
Inputs get their own shortcuts, exactly like outputs. Or let the microphone follow your headphones.
Your headphones reconnect on their own and the meeting goes into a pair of earbuds you aren't wearing. Or you plug in a monitor and the sound moves to its speakers.
Today every time
- Open Control Center, expand Sound, switch back.
- Do it again tomorrow. macOS has no setting for this.
With SnapAudio once
Drag your devices into the order you want.
The highest connected device keeps your sound, and a switch you didn't ask for doesn't happen.
The app itself
Native and lightweight.
Built in Swift and SwiftUI with Core Audio, and no third-party code.
One app, no extras
No driver, system extension, or helper process. SnapAudio is just an app in your Applications folder.
Idle until a device changes
It responds to device changes instead of constantly checking for them.
Menu bar only
No Dock icon and no window to keep open. It can start with your Mac, if you want it to.
Nothing is collected
No account, no analytics, no network connection at all.
FAQ
Common questions.
Is SnapAudio for me?
A good fit if…
- You have more than two audio devices: speakers, a headset, a monitor, a dock.
- Your microphone changes depending on what you're doing.
- You switch during calls, games, or presentations, when the menu bar is out of reach.
Probably not if…
- You only ever use the built-in speakers and microphone.
- You need per-app volume.
- You need audio routing.
Why not just use Control Center?
Control Center works for occasional changes. SnapAudio is for the moments when you need a shortcut, want to switch a microphone too, or want your Mac to follow the device order you chose.
Does it need Accessibility permission?
No. The shortcuts are registered with the system directly, which works inside the sandbox. You'll never see a permission prompt, and the app can't read your keystrokes — it's told when its own combinations are pressed, and nothing else.
Why isn't there an icon in the Dock?
SnapAudio is a menu bar app. Its icon sits at the top right of the screen, and it opens its settings window on first launch, so the first start isn't silent.
What if my menu bar is already full?
A menu bar manager solves it: Hidden Bar, Ice, and Bartender all collapse the icons you never look at, which leaves room for the ones you use. Hidden Bar and Ice are free. SnapAudio's own item can be narrow too — the device name, the volume percentage and the indicator are separate toggles, so you can leave just the icon.
Does it work with wireless headphones?
Yes. Most non-Apple wireless headsets appear to macOS as two separate devices — one for playback, one for the microphone — and SnapAudio pairs them back together so switching to the headset moves your mic too.
Can it set the volume for each app separately?
No. Per-app volume control needs a system-wide audio driver. SnapAudio works on the current output device instead: it changes the volume, mutes it, and moves your sound to another device.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac on macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
What data do you collect?
None. Your settings stay in a preferences file on your Mac, and the app never opens a connection to send them anywhere. The full text is on the privacy page.
Is it a subscription?
No. $7 once, through the Mac App Store, on every Mac tied to your Apple Account. Updates are included.
Switch your Mac audio in a snap.
Coming soon