I have a few questions about an iphone

1. from what I can tell I can use something like a scarlet 18i8 with a octopre for a total of 16 tracks. this is correct?
2. if true, is there a cable that works best? I'm assuming I will need a USB C to lightning cable.
3. any advice or links to already addressed topics?

I basically want to use 16 inputs to do crude recordings on my phone. I figure because of space I will only be able to record one song and upload it off my phone to a g drive. if there's a solution to being able to record let's say, 8 tracks total, and up to let's say 7-8 songs at roughly 4 minutes each would that take up a ton of space?

Yes, with a lightning port on your phone you will need a cable to get the USB device connected, I would stay away from any knockoff cables and stick with the Apple ones. I've heard of inferior cables failing at the most inopportune times, or loosing sync which can insert random glitches into the audio.
For the size calculation: 24 bit audio at 48 kHz, mono tracks are around 9 MB per minute. Times 8 tracks, that gets you to 70 MB per minute. So each 5 minute song will cost you around 350 MB. At this rate, you should be able to record about 3 songs per GB. Hope this helps

awesome thanks for all the info. I did try a knockoff cable with 0 connection. no inputs show up in the list of available. what am I missing here? I feel like even if I get a legit Apple cable I'll get the same results. I keep hearing about the camera kit but all that does is keep your device charged while allowing a second device to connect. so for a 3rd gen focusrite 18i20 what specifically would I need to connect to an iPad or phone? is this just try stuff till you find something that works? they have so many cables and connectors and I do understand what im trying to do is not what was intended so it hit and miss. Are there app settings I need to adjust?

You'll need a lightning to usb-c adapter cable for that interface, and it will work no problem. With multitrack open, when you plug in the interface what does the popup in the lower left say? If there is no popup it's definitely a connection issue. Let me know what the popup says and we'll work from there.

This cable will connect that interface to a device with a lightning port:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MQGH ... -cable-2-m