Rode smartLav+ TRRS Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for Smartphones and Mobile Devices

Rode smartLav+: Broadcast-Grade Lavalier Audio Through Your Smartphone's Headset Jack

The Rode smartLav+ is the broadcast-grade omnidirectional lavalier microphone built to plug straight into any smartphone or mobile device with a 3.5 mm TRRS headset jack. No app is required, no interface sits in between, no batteries need charging — the mic draws what it needs from the phone, clips to the talent's lapel, and starts capturing usable interview audio the moment the stock voice memo app opens. For mobile journalists, documentary filmmakers, content creators, sermon recorders, and wedding videographers who film on a phone, it replaces the omnidirectional mic Apple and Samsung baked into the device with a true broadcast-quality electret condenser positioned inches from the talker's mouth.

Omnidirectional Pickup That Forgives Lavalier Placement

The smartLav+ uses a permanently polarized electret condenser capsule wired in an omnidirectional pattern. Omnidirectional means the mic picks up evenly from every angle around the capsule — the inverse of how a shotgun mic works. The practical result on the lapel is that placement is forgiving: even when the talent turns their head, walks, or addresses a second person off to the side, the level stays consistent and the voice stays present. Sensitivity sits at -35 dB and the maximum SPL handling tops out at 110 dB, so the mic captures whisper-level interview tone cleanly while still surviving a louder field environment.

4-Foot Kevlar-Reinforced Cable for ENG and Field Work

The 1.2-meter (4-foot) cable is shielded and Kevlar-reinforced through the entire run. Kevlar fibers running parallel to the conductor resist stretch, tangle, and the kind of accidental tug-out that breaks cheaper lavalier cables on the second shoot. The cable ends in a gold-plated 3.5 mm 4-pole TRRS plug sized to seat fully in the smartphone's headset jack — no app dependency, no driver install, no charging dance. Plug in, hit record, talk.

Foam Pop Filter and Mounting Clip Both Included in the Box

The included foam pop filter slides over the capsule and reduces wind noise and plosive 'p' and 'b' bursts before they hit the diaphragm — useful for outdoor work, walking talking-head shots, and high-energy interview takes. The durable mounting clip integrates a strain-relief cable management channel that anchors the cable behind the talent's lapel, so motion at the cable end doesn't transmit up to the capsule as handling noise. A carry pouch ships in the box too, keeping the thin cable from knotting between shoots.

Works With Any iOS or Android Audio App, Plus the Free Rode Reporter App

The smartLav+ is class-compliant analog audio over the TRRS headset jack — any audio-recording app on iOS or Android sees it as the active microphone input. The stock iOS Voice Memos app, the iOS Camera app's video mode, Android voice recorders, conferencing apps, and field-recording apps all work without configuration. Rode's free Rode Reporter app for iOS adds split-track recording, level monitoring, trim/edit, and metadata export — turning a phone-plus-smartLav+ rig into a self-contained mobile recording station, no laptop required.

Built for Mobile Journalism, Documentary, and Smartphone Interview Workflows

This is the lavalier built for first-time podcasters discovering that the phone's built-in mic doesn't survive a busy room, for vloggers and YouTubers shooting talking-head video without a separate recorder, for documentary filmmakers running a phone as a discreet B-roll subject mic, for sermon and lecture videographers who need a clean voice track without a wireless system, and for wedding videographers hiding a phone on the officiant for ceremony audio. One mic, one cable, one phone — everything fits in a pocket and ships in a carry pouch.