As usual, Apple has left a nugget of a feature hidden away in the accessibility menu. Last year, Apple placed Sound Recognition on that menu. When your phone hears one of the sounds you toggle on from a list of 15 (including the two additional sounds added this year), you will see a notification. This is a great feature for the hard-of-hearing because the iPhone can inform a user when a fire alarm or a smoke alarm is set off.
Other sounds that the iPhone can recognize and notify the user about include:
Cat
Dog
Appliances
Car Horn
Door Bell
Door Knock
Glass Breaking
Kettle
Water Running
Baby Crying
Coughing
Shouting
To get to the feature, go to Settings > Accessibility > Sound Recognition >Toggle on Sound Recognition > Tap on Sounds on the same page.
This year, Apple added a feature called Background Sounds that will allow you to hear relaxing sounds like Rain, the Ocean, a Stream, Dark Noise, Bright Noise, and Balanced Noise. This is the sort of sleep aid that you might find at electronics stores. To turn it on go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds. You can set the alarm using a volume slider, and have it play or refrain from playing when other media is running.
Many people swear by white noise generators to recreate the sounds of the ocean or rain to help them get to sleep at night. If you have a compatible iPhone model, your handset might be able to help you fall asleep easier.
Background Sounds has been added to Accessibility in iOS 15
It's possible that you haven't gone to the Accessibility page in some time. There you will find many audio/visual features that make it easier to use the handset if you have issues with your sight and hearing.
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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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