Apple's forthcoming iOS 18 update will bring a minor update to a feature you may not know is hiding in the settings. The feature, called Background Sounds, is getting two new sounds, as reported by MacRumors. The sounds are called Night and Fire.
The Background Sounds feature was introduced into iPhones with iOS 15. Activating the tool allows users to play ambient background noises on their iPhones to help them focus or relax. When it launched, there were six different ambient noises, including Ocean, Rain, Stream and various pitches of white noise.
It even includes an option to play background noise while streaming music, podcasts or videos.
Released as a part of a series of wellness updates in iOS 15, calming background noise has been proven to lower stress and boost concentration.
The free feature can be set up by going into the Settings app. If you haven't tried it before or need a refresher, check out our step-by-step guide to turning on Background Sounds.
The ambient noise feature can be found in the Settings app under the Accessibility menu. Background Sounds can be found under the audio/visual menu. From there, the feature can be turned on, and ambient noise options can be selected.
It is a reasonably robust toolset that can change the volume of the chosen ambient sound in general and the volume it plays at alongside other media, like videos or podcasts.
If you want quick access to the tool, you can add Background Noises to the Control Center. Navigate to the Control Center via the Settings app and add it to Apple's quick access area from there.
Apple has slowly been rolling out iOS 18 beta updates for developers. If you want to test it out, a public beta will be available later this month. The full operating system update should be available in September when Apple announces the iPhone 16 lineup.
If you're more of an Apple tablet or laptop user, the new Background Sounds are available in the iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia beta programs.
