iOS 15: How to Use Background Sounds to Minimize Distractions and Stay Focused

[MacRumors]

In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, one of several new accessibility features that Apple has introduced is Background Sounds, which is designed to help you stay focused, stay calm, and minimize distractions with the help of your iPhone or iPad.

The Background Sounds on offer include balanced, bright, and dark noise, as well as natural sounds like ocean, rain, and stream. All of the sounds can be set to play in the background to mask unwanted environmental or external noise, and the sounds mix into or duck under other audio and system sounds.

The following steps explain how to enable Background Sounds on iOS devices running iOS 15.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Accessibility.
3. Under "Hearing," tap Audio/Visual.
   
   
   
   Tap Background Sounds.
4. Tap the switch to turn on Background Sounds.
5. Tap Sound to choose a sound effect.
   Choose from Balanced Noise, Bright Noise, Dark Noise, Ocean, Rain, and Stream.
   
   

Your device will need to download individual sound effects when you play them for the first time, so make sure you have an internet connection, but after that you can play the background sound whether or not you're online.

As noted by MacRumors reader yahlover, once you've downloaded the background sounds you can also add the Hearing item to Control Center for quicker access to them (Settings -> Control Center).

Article Link: iOS 15: How to Use Background Sounds to Minimize Distractions and Stay Focused

 

[ignatius345]

My favorite for this is myNoise. Has a TON of different sounds and new ones are added frequently across a lot of genres. A lot of the soundscapes are customizable -- so in a forest scene for example you can dial down the birds or crank up the creek. Pretty great.

The other thing I like about it is that it lets you mix its audio with other apps. I will mix in a background sound with my meditation app to help mask outside noise, for instance.

 

[Apple Mac Daz]

I don’t see the point in it

 

[iDento]

I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.

 

[Apple_Robert]

MR is one big daily distraction.

 

[richinaus]

MR is one big daily distraction.

its addictive.

We need a macrumors anonymous page set up.......... I think I will need a few sessions.

 

[fivenotrump]

I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.

filing under Accessibility is odd

 

[ghanwani]

In iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, one of several new accessibility features that Apple has introduced is Background Sounds, which is designed to minimize distractions and help you stay focused, stay calm, and minimize distractions with the help of your iPhone or iPad.

You're definitely going to need this feature when you see the pricing for the new iPhones in September.

 

[Camzor]

This is pretty helpful. It’s nice to not rely on an app for ambient sounds like this. You can also add “Hearing” to Control Center to enable this on the fly.

 

[Spoddles]

I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.

The running water sound is for the bladder-impaired so it’s perfect as a Universal Access feature. 🤣

 

[EmotionalSnow]

I'm pretty sure it's under Accessibility for a good reason.

I don’t see the point in it

Then you can count yourself lucky. Not everybody can say of themselves that they do not need the Accessibility settings. To be honest, I find your comment a bit tone deaf.

 

[yahlover]

It’s actually much simpler to access if you add the ‘Hearing’ shortcut to Control Center. From there, you can access it from within any app.

 

[0128672]

It seems like a lot of steps to turn it on each time unless it can added to Accessibility Shortcuts. The list of sounds is a bit sparse too. At night I prefer using an app called White Noise, which offers a multitude of sounds and a full-screen clock.

 

[matrix07]

This is pretty helpful. It’s nice to not rely on an app for ambient sounds like this. You can also add “Hearing” to Control Center to enable this on the fly.

Great tip 👍

 

[matrix07]

It seems like a lot of steps to turn it on each time unless it can added to Accessibility Shortcuts. The list of sounds is a bit sparse too. At night I prefer using an app called White Noise, which offers a multitude of sounds and a full-screen clock.

At night I just play rain sound from Music and I'll sleep like a rock 😜

 

[danny1305]

I don’t see the point in it

Ok….so don’t use it. Simple

 

[mannyvel]

These sort of features are really neat.

I assume they play over AirPlay as well? That would be a neat thing, because I generally don't wear headphones all day (though I know a lot of people who do).

 

[sw1tcher]

I minimize background sounds and distractions with noise cancelling headphones.

 

[antiprotest]

Can we add Epic and Sonos complaining about Apple as background sounds?

 

[Tech198]

Is there a reason why these accessibility sounds are not on the device initially, yet ringtones are ?

 

[jzuena]

They should sync the list up with the ambient sounds list on HomePod. HomePod only has one white nose choice and background sounds doesn't have night, fireplace and forest sounds.

 

[thatguywill]

Hopefully this means we can set HomePod automations to play background sounds when going to bed 🤞🏼

 

[swrobel]

filing under Accessibility is odd

“We’ve got a new feature but we’re not quite sure where in Settings to put it.”

“Just jam it into Accessibility.”

 

[DeepIn2U]

My favorite for this is myNoise. Has a TON of different sounds and new ones are added frequently across a lot of genres. A lot of the soundscapes are customizable -- so in a forest scene for example you can dial down the birds or crank up the creek. Pretty great.

The other thing I like about it is that it lets you mix its audio with other apps. I will mix in a background sound with my meditation app to help mask outside noise, for instance.

Thanks for the suggestion! Just downloaded this.
soundscaping is becoming a HUGE industry and I’m curious how this will affect positively for mental health from all challenges.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I like this, but I don’t see as an accessibility feature. Dark noise helps me sleep.

filing under Accessibility is odd

Filing on assessability’s because most of the western world still does not understand mental health or the issues that many millions of people are suffering even more more more lately in our part of the world or in our culture even having a psychiatrist is frowned upon yet in many countries in South America or the rest of the world your front upon if you don’t have a personal psychiatrist by the time you’re 12. Hence why it’s listed under accessibility because sooner or later it will be part of health