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The world is a stressful place now and if your life needs an extra dose of calm you should check out a new feature for your iPhone in iOS 15 — Background Sounds. This is one of the cool new features in iOS 15 that you may never find if you don’t know where to look!
In fact, the official Apple iOS 15 page doesn’t even mention Background Sounds. Yet, this favorite new feature is available free for those who update their iPhones to iOS 15.
About Background Sounds
If you enjoy listening to soothing sounds in the background or are a fan of old-school sound soothers, you should check out Background Sounds in iOS 15. With Background Sounds turned on, your iPhone will play soothing sounds in the background even when you’re using other apps.
In introducing this feature, Apple said, Background Sounds “plays in the background to mask unwanted environmental noise. These sounds can minimize distractions and help you to focus, calm or rest.” Background Sounds will even play when you’re listening to music for a more immersive experience.
Six Background Sound options are available:
- Balanced Noise
- Bright Noise
- Dark Noise
- Ocean
- Rain
- Stream
You can check out each sound and pick a favorite, or choose a sound according to your mood.
Don’t miss => 10 Free Apps to Help You Sleep Better — Infographic
How to Use Background Sounds
To use Background Sounds, you must first update your iPhone to iOS 15. Background Sounds isn’t a separate app. Instead, it’s a feature found in the Accessibility section of Settings.
To start using Background Sounds, you must first turn on the feature in Settings, but you don’t have to go to Settings every time you want to turn it on.
How to Turn On Background Sounds in Settings
To Turn on Background Sounds in Settings, open the Settings app and tap Accessibility. Scroll down to the Hearing section, then tap Audio/Visual =>Background Sounds. Slide the switch to On.
Background Sounds will start playing. Can you feel the calm already?
Now tap Sound underneath Background Sounds and choose from the six options.
The first time you choose a sound it will have to download onto your phone.
Background Sound Options
You can choose other options in Background Sounds to customize your calming experience. A slider lets you adjust the default volume of your chosen Background Sound. Or you can use the volume button on your device to change the volume.
If you want Background Sounds to continue playing in the background when you’re listening to music or watching a video, turn Use When Media Is Playing on.
Tap Play Sample to hear a Background Sound playing in the background while music is playing. You can also adjust the Volume with Media slider to make this setting work best for you.
To quickly turn off Background Sounds or make sure that Background Sounds stop playing after a while, turn on Stop Sounds When Locked.
Easier Ways to Turn Background Sounds On
After you’ve turned on Background Sounds in Settings, you’ll quickly realize you don’t want to have to go through those steps every time you want to use this feature. Fortunately, there are a couple of easy ways to turn on Background Sounds.
Background Sounds in Control Center
To turn Background Sounds on and off easily, use Control Center. After you turn on Background Sounds, you’ll see a new icon in Control Center, the Hearing icon.
Tap the Hearing icon to turn Background Sounds on and off. You’ll also be able to choose which Background Sound you’d like to hear, as well as adjust the volume.
Tap the blue button to turn Background Sounds on and off.
Learn more about Control Center at => 13 Super Shortcuts for Your iPhone – in Control Center
Background Sounds Shortcut
If you find you’re a big fan of Background Sounds, you can set up a Shortcut to turn on Background Sounds quickly.
To set up a Shortcut for Background Sounds, open the Settings app, go to Accessibility => Accessibility Shortcut => Background Sounds.
With this Shortcut turned on, you’ll be able to turn Background Sounds on and off by triple-clicking the power button.
What Else You Should Know
If you haven’t yet updated your iPhone to iOS 15, you may want to wait a bit. Make sure that any essential apps you use have been recently updated to work with iOS 15. I’ve experienced some glitches with a few apps in iOS 15.
For a deeper dive into the potential uses for Background Sounds, check out 9-to-5 Mac Concept: Background sounds in iOS 15 should have their own app with spatial audio, sleep timer, and more.
Your Thoughts
Do you like to play calming sounds in the background to relax? Have you tried Background Sounds? Which Background Sound is your favorite?
Share your thoughts in the Comments Section Below!
I hadn’t even heard of this feature, definitely one to test for falling asleep to, I tried using the Echo and just didn’t enjoy the texture of the sound from that speaker, if that makes sense? Do you know if there’s a turn-off timer for it? Haven’t updated the OS just yet!
Hi Daniel, Excellent point. A timer to turn off Background Sounds would be very helpful if you’re using this feature to fall asleep. I hope Apple introduces that in a future iOS update.
This is really one of the coolest features. Not sure if there have been any separate apps that had offer the same functionality.
Hi Carl, Yes, this feature is very cool. It’s an easy way to set the mood to relaxation and it’s free to use.
You’re right, there are other apps that do similar things, but the easy access of Background Sounds is what sets it apart from the other apps.