If you’ve ever needed a little peace and quiet but couldn’t find it—say, in a loud café, a packed train, or your own overstimulated brain—you’ll want to check out a feature Apple just quietly upgraded in iOS 26.
Revealed during WWDC 2025, iOS 26 brings a surprising amount of polish to even the most tucked-away settings, including a refreshed take on Background Sounds that’s worth your attention.
Tucked away under Accessibility in your iPhone’s settings, Background Sounds lets you play ambient noise—like white noise, rain, or ocean waves—to help you stay focused, relax, or fall asleep.
Up until now, it’s felt like one of those hidden gems only a few people used. However, with iOS 26, Apple has doubled the sound library from eight to sixteen options, and some of the new additions are unexpectedly delightful.
Here’s what’s new:
- Babble
- Steam
- Airplane
- Boat
- Bus
- Train
- Rain on Roof
- Quiet Night
You’ve got classics like “Rain on Roof” and “Quiet Night,” but also a few that tap into nostalgia, like “Train,” “Airplane,” and even “Bus.”
There’s one called “Babble” that mimics the soft chatter of a distant crowd—it’s oddly comforting in a way that’s hard to explain.
Apple didn’t just throw in extra sounds for fun; they actually seem thoughtfully selected, like someone on the design team had their own calming playlist and decided to share it.
Once you enable the feature (Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds), you can toggle it on and off straight from the Control Center.
You don’t need an internet connection; it won’t interrupt your music or other audio unless you want it to. It just… sits there, in the background, doing its job.
If you’ve never tried it, now’s the time. Whether you’re trying to drown out city noise, focus better during work, or just unwind at night without distractions, this might become one of those features you end up using every day.
