I use AirPods Pro 3 all day, every day while I work, and there’s one hidden iOS tool that I’ve found pairs perfectly with the product: it’s a little-known feature called Background Sounds.
Background Sounds + AirPods Pro 3 is my daily work setup
Three months into using AirPods Pro 3, I’ve been loving the latest update. My initial problems with fit discomfort have been resolved, leaving me able to enjoy the product’s many strengths.
One of my favorite features is the better-than-ever Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). Whenever I’m working, there’s always plenty of noise that needs to be cut out to aid my focus. When I’m at home, that’s my toddler running around, and if I’m out, there’s the chatter of a coffee shop.
I’ve long paired AirPods Pro’s noise cancelling features with white noise apps to cut out distractions. But over the last year or so, my favorite way to do that has been with a built-in iOS feature.
Background Sounds is a powerful ambient noise tool hidden inside Apple’s Accessibility offerings, and it’s become a daily go-to for me.
Though Background Sounds has been around for years, several changes over the past year have made it better than ever.
My favorite sound is the Fire option, which arrived in iOS 18, but there are a bunch of other great ones.
I toggle Fire on and off via the Background Sounds control in Control Center. Pairing it with AirPods Pro 3’s ANC helps me eliminate all outside noises and gain the level of focus I need to work.
New in iOS 26 are a bunch of other Background Sounds, including a ‘Rain on Roof’ sound I love. The update also added the ability to customize EQ to your liking.
All of these various Background Sounds tools, combined with the improved ANC of AirPods Pro 3, have become my favorite way to block out the world and get things done.
Have you used Background Sounds in iOS, or do you have another go-to ambient noise solution? Let us know in the comments.
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