My case is simple: I need to play a warning signal and want to make sure the user will hear it, so I want to check the system volume.
How can I find out what the cur
You can use the default system's volume View and add to wherever you need it. In my case I required it in my own music player. It's easy and hassle free. Just add the view, and everything is done. This is explained in Apple's MPVolume Class Reference.
mpVolumeViewParentView.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];
MPVolumeView *myVolumeView =
[[MPVolumeView alloc] initWithFrame: mpVolumeViewParentView.bounds];
[mpVolumeViewParentView addSubview: myVolumeView];
[myVolumeView release];