I just tested the ultimate wireless mic for on-the-go TikTokers and content creators

The brand-new Shure MoveMic 88+ is one of the best microphones for content creators and filmmakers in the field. It’s pricey, yes, but it is one of the only mics I’ve ever come across with selectable polar patterns and wireless phone connectivity. The MoveMic 88+ is the newest member of the MoveMic family, leveling up with a completely wireless connection. Yes — the mic can connect to your phone via Bluetooth, no cables necessary.

Not just a phone accessory, the MoveMic 88+ receiver also connects to cameras with a 3.5mm cable. This means it’s compatible with laptops, too, making it an effective on-the-fly voiceover mic. DSP settings like channel swap, noise reduction, monitor mix, and EQ can also be configured on the receiver.

You can also configure mic gain, polar pattern, and monitor levels using the receiver, which has a bright, responsive screen, and intuitive controls. Despite the pro price, the MoveMic 88+ is actually fairly easy to use, making it ideal for professionals and amateur content creators alike.

Find out more in my full Shure MoveMic 88+ review.

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? A mic + receiver kit, compatible with cameras and phones
• Who is it for? Video journalists, content creators and filmmakers who predominantly use their phone
• What does it cost? A pretty penny: Receiver kit: $449 / £439. Mic only: $299 / £289
• What do we like? As expected, the audio quality is great, there are selectable polar patterns and it’s supremely easy to use with just a phone
• What don’t we like? It’s really expensive, has no onboard storage, and the range is a little lacking

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Specs

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Price & availability

Shure has released the MoveMic 88+ in two versions. Just the microphone is $299 from Shure U.S. and £289 from Shure U.K.. With the receiver kit — which I tested, and recommend over the basic microphone — it’s $449 from Shure U.S. and £439 from Shure U.K..

If you’re only intending to use the MoveMic 88+ via Bluetooth with your phone, you would only need the microphone. However, if you want high-quality audio when recording on either a camera or a phone, I’d recommend the receiver kit: you’ll be able to use the mic and camera separately, and you’ll be able to record wirelessly without using Bluetooth (which compresses audio).

I’m not going to sugarcoat it — $449 is a pretty premium price for even a pro wireless mic. Shure’s MoveMic Two is $349 without the receiver, and $499 with the receiver. The Rode Wireless Pro is $399 and the DJI Mic 2 — which we gave 4.5* — is $349 for a receiver kit. Beginners will want to check out the DJI Mic Mini, thanks to the crazy affordable price tag of just $59 for the standalone transmitter, or $89 for a receiver kit.

Shure’s premium price tag isn’t without reason, though. The MoveMic 88+ is the only wireless mic I’ve seen with selectable polar patterns. You can choose from cardioid, stereo, mono, mono bi-directional, and raw mid-side, meaning the mic can adapt to most environments.

The selectable polar patterns make the MoveMic 88+ one of the most versatile options available today.

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Design & controls

As you’d expect for a wireless mic, there are two main parts: the microphone itself, and the receiver. The receiver connects to phones using a USB-C cable, and cameras using a 3.5mm cable. It has a headphone jack for instant monitoring.

The screen is pretty small, but I had no issues using it in reality. There are two buttons under the screen, one ‘X’ and the other a green circle. As you might have guessed, ‘X’ means no, and the green circle means yes.

I found it easy to navigate through the settings with these buttons. The receiver is how you change things like the microphone name, polar pattern, noise reduction, EQ, etc etc. All settings are adjustable using the receiver.

I found it a little disappointing that there are no adjustable settings in the mobile Motiv Mix app, as I really like the desktop version for its range of settings.

It’s worth noting that the MoveMic 88+ is compatible with other-branded mics, so you can theoretically link up DJI, Rode, or Joby mics if you have extras.

The DJI Mic 2 connects via Bluetooth, just like the MoveMic 88+, but doesn’t require proprietary software, whereas the MoveMic 88+ does if you just want to record audio. If you’re recording video, your phone will use the MoveMic’s audio over the internal mic.

The microphone itself is tiny, just 4 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. It’s ideal for taking out and about in the field, or even doing on-the-fly reporting.

When I was studying Broadcast Journalism at university (2019, so not even that long ago), I used a Zoom H4N — which is 8 x 4 inches. While not a bad audio device at all (actually very high-quality recordings), it’s big, bulky, and looks dated.

If I’d had the Shure MoveMic 88+, I would’ve felt much more professional and modern. I think I could’ve created news podcasts with the MoveMic 88+ just as effectively as with the classic H4N.

I think it’s a real missed opportunity that the receiver doesn’t magnetically attach to MagSafe cases for the ultimate symbiosis with smartphones. I’d like to see this in possible future versions — although I don’t know if any are due to exist!

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Features & connectivity

One of the MoveMic 88+’s most delectable features is the selectable polar pattern. You can configure the mic to: stereo, cardioid, bi-directional, and raw mid-side.

I would recommend cardioid for most, but bi-directional is best for two-way interviews, and raw mid-side is perfect for field recordists as it opens up all three of the capsules.

I particularly enjoyed raw mid-side for collecting almost 360° audio, ideal for sound effects for podcasts, radio documentaries, and even video content.

These polar patterns are easy to select in the receiver, Motiv Video, or Motiv Audio apps. I’ll discuss the apps in more detail in the ‘App’ section below.

As mentioned above, the mic itself connects to phones via Bluetooth, or you can connect the receiver via USB-C into laptops or phones. I tested with my MacBook Air M2 on work calls — my colleagues reported excellent, crisp audio — but mostly my iPhone 16 Pro.

Unfortunately, the MoveMic 88+ has just a 300ft range, nothing like the DJI Mic 2’s 820ft range, or the Rode Wireless Pro’s 853ft range. I’m really surprised at the low range, as the MoveMic 88+’s high price suggests it’d have top-of-the-range specs.

I suppose range has been sacrificed for features like selectable polar patterns and wireless phone connectivity, but I’m still disappointed by this.

There’s also no built-in storage, so you won’t be able to use the mic independently of a recording device. However, you can record directly onto your phone without filming using the Motiv Mix mobile app.

While no on-board storage, or a MicroSD port, is standard for most plug-and-play podcasting, broadcasting, and gaming mics, other wireless mics do have this feature. If you really needed wireless mics with onboard storage, I’d recommend the Rode Wireless Pro (32GB per TX unit) or the DJI Mic 2 (8GB).

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: App

I tested the beta version of Motiv Video, but it works the same way the public version will. Motiv Video and Motiv Audio are a pair of easy-to-use apps. As we have to use these apps to record content, it’s the best of a bad situation that these apps are actually user-friendly.

Unfortunately without the receiver, you’re forced to record directly into Motiv Video or Motiv Audio. However, with the receiver, you can record into your native camera app.

I like the Motiv family of apps: they’re simple, easy to use, and easy to master. There are a range of settings, like polar pattern, noise reduction, EQ, and high pass filter. The iOS/Android apps compatible with the MoveMic 88+ are no different.

One thing that I think needs to be patched out is Motiv Video’s inability to export multiple files at once. I had to painstakingly manually export each individual video file to my Google Drive, which took ten minutes to export nine videos. Exporting enough video clips for long journalistic content or even TikToks would be even more frustrating, especially if using higher quality/larger file types, like .MOV.

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Audio quality

As the MoveMic 88+ is a condenser mic, it doesn’t have the same deep, warm recording quality you might find on a dynamic microphone like dedicated podcast or broadcasting microphones (the MV7+ or the MV6, for example).

However, a dynamic microphone would not be an effective field mic, due to its proclivity for picking up ambient sound.

Condenser mics effectively have diaphragms that rest against metal panels (instead of dynamic microphones, which use moving coils to pick up sound), which means some of the frequency range is sacrificed for minimal ambient sound.

Voiceover

As you can see (hear) from this YouTube video below, the Shure MoveMic 88+ is fantastic at picking up the speaker’s voice, and only the speaker’s voice. I’m a little sad you can’t hear the rams in the final audio, but that’s certainly a positive aspect of the MoveMic.

At a basic level, the MoveMic 88+ is really good at minimizing ambient sound, making it an ideal microphone for loud environments, like street-side interviews (A.K.A vox pops).

Shure MoveMic 88+ — Test 1 - YouTube

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This was recorded directly from my phone’s camera, without the Motiv Mix application open. I recorded using cardioid polar pattern and with the DSP settings on default, noise reduction activated.

This was recorded into the Motiv Video app and edited together. This was recorded with no noise reduction filter and in cardioid.

Shure MoveMic 88+ — Test 2 - YouTube

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As you can hear from the video, the audio is clear and crisp. There’s very little interference from wind or outdoor noises like traffic and construction. I could go on and on about the audio quality, but these videos do the talking for me.

Bidirectional/figure-of-eight

The ideal polar pattern for 2-way interviews, bidirectional (also called figure-of-eight) blocks off the top capsule and opens up the two side capsules. This makes it perfect for picking up voices on either side without picking up sound from above.

As you can hear, the microphone did an excellent job at picking up both mine and my interviewee’s voices. Considering how tiny this microphone is, I’m really surprised by its quality. The mic’s ability to isolate capsules (areas where it picks up sound) is awesome.

Raw mid-side

This polar pattern activates the bidirectional/figure-of-eight capsule and the cardioid capsule simultaneously for an almost 360° soundscape.

This is great for capturing as much sound as you can, ideal for field recordists, or those who want a range of sound effects and are willing to edit in post.

I was around 20 feet away from the construction workers here, and still got great quality.

I was able to get a lovely recording of a jackhammer, as you can tell from the MP3 above. While it’s not a particularly enjoyable soundscape, you can tell exactly what it is, and that it’s recorded in high quality. This would be great for layering sound effects.

Standardized audio testing (using cardioid)

Now I know most people using this microphone aren’t going to be uttering tongue twisters in a quiet room, but this is part of my standard testing procedure. Every mic I test gets the tongue twister treatment. For continuity, every clip here was recorded with cardioid polar pattern, with noise reduction on. There’s no built-in pop filter on this mic like on the MV7+ and MV7i.

Plosives

I tested out the MoveMic 88+ with my usual ‘Peter Piper’ tongue twister.

I’m a little disappointed with the plosive pops, but it’s by no means unlistenable. You just might need to learn better mic etiquette than me or run it through Adobe Audition’s pop eliminator effect. Even so, the audio is still relatively clean and high-quality.

Fricatives & sibilance

I was really impressed with the fricative recording.

As you can hear, I don’t sound like a hissing balloon, and there’s no clipping or overly loud parts. I think the MoveMic 88+ performed exceptionally well here.

For the final test, I read out a couple of ‘S’ tongue twisters to test the Movemic 88+’s ability to minimize sibilant hissing.

Just as with the ‘F’ sounds, I’m really impressed with the sibilant hiss minimization. My voice is clear and audible, with no overtly uncomfortable sounds.

Shure MoveMic 88+ review: Verdict

There are very few microphones that do what the Shure MoveMic 88+ can do. Sure, the DJI Mic 2 performs just as well for less money, but it’s a different kind of mic with a different kind of audience. It’s a clip-on mic for more camera-forward recordings.

The MoveMic 88+ is a completely phone-forward audio device. It connects via Bluetooth to your phone (or via receiver if you buy the receiver kit) and is as easy as a plug-and-play microphone.

For phone-forward content creators, like TikTokers, YouTubers, or Instagram content creators, the MoveMic 88+ will do everything you want it to. There’s no way viewers will be able to tell just how tiny this microphone is from the vast soundscape it can capture.

On top of the great audio quality and versatile usability, there’s also the matter of the selectable polar patterns to consider. This basically makes the MoveMic 88+ 4 specialized mics in one, and reduces the need for different mics to do different jobs.

Obviously, it’s not perfect — the range is considerably smaller than other mics, and it’s quite expensive. However, I will only ever use this mic for on-the-go content creation now. It’s simply so darn easy to use. No fiddling with TX and RX units — just connect via Bluetooth and you’re good to go. It’s as easy as that.