iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are adding two new background sounds to their impressive accessibility features that help mask any unwanted noise, allowing you to focus on the task at hand.
Background Sounds, a fantastic feature that debuted in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 back in 2021, can be found in Settings > Accessibility > Background Sounds. Here, you can play six different ambient noises on the best iPhones and best iPads to help you concentrate or relax. Later this year, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will expand this feature to include Fire and Night sounds. Currently, the list includes:
- Balanced Noise
- Bright Noise
- Dark Noise
- Ocean
- Rain
- Stream
In our testing with iOS 18 Beta, we found the Fire sound to be very soothing, with the crackles and pops of an open fireplace. The Night sound includes the faint swooshing of brisk wind with crickets chirping on occasion. It’s worth mentioning that, thanks to the redesigned Control Center in the newest iOS update, you can change these Background Sounds at any time via a new widget.
Apple says that iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will arrive later this year for compatible iPhones and iPads.
What else is new in iOS 18?
iOS 18 introduces a collection of small but significant improvements that are scattered across the iPhone’s operating system. For example, Control Center, the menu that appears when you drag your finger from the top-right of an iPhone’s display, has been redesigned. You can now resize widgets and add multiple pages of them, as well as add third-party widgets, thanks to developers now having access to Control Center.
‘Distraction Control’ is another new feature that’s in Apple’s Safari web browser. This allows users to hide distracting objects as they browse the web, such as sites that display sign-in banners that cover the entire browser window.
Overall, iOS 18 is shaping up to be a fantastic update with plenty of useful features. If you want to try it out on your iPhone right now, we’ve got you covered with a guide on how to download iOS 18 beta.
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