Accessibility

Ambient noise, white noise, dark noise; whatever you want to call it, the App Store abounds with apps dedicated to playing background noise to help you focus, find calm, fall asleep, tap into your subconscious and so on. Apple has taken note of the general enthusiasm regarding such apps and has added its own background noise feature in iOS 15 - Background Sounds. It isn't a stand alone app, rather it is an Accessibility feature that you can use to drown out distracting noise in your environment, help you meditate, help you sleep and so on.

As with many things on the iPhone, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Powering off the device is no different. If you are experiencing a problem with the side button on your iPhone, or you cannot press a physical button, the device can be shut down using only touch gestures. To prevent an accidental shut down, the power off feature is somewhat hidden.

Once the iPhone is switched off, it can be restarted without using the side button as well. Simply plug the iPhone into a charger with a Lightning cable and the device should boot up.

Some of the latest features on iOS make it possible to directly monitor headphone sound levels and even categorize different Bluetooth devices paired with your iPhone or iPad. Yet another feature provides customized headphone audio for listeners, optimizing specific frequencies or boosting soft sounds to enhance hearing.

There are many ways to get extra help when using the iPhone for everyday tasks. One of the Accessibility features built into iOS is Typing Feedback. This feature provides auditory confirmation of keyboard input across the system. Entering text in any app can be accompanied by live feedback to read characters, words, or help with predictive text options.

iOS 14's Back Tap is a new Accessibility feature that lets you accomplish a variety of tasks by simply tapping the back of your iPhone. It can not only change various settings, but, using Shortcuts, it can launch apps or even specific functions of apps as well, making it incredibly versatile. One such function, if it suits you, is checking sports scores of specific teams. For instance, you can set up Back Tap to go right to ESPN's Game Cast of your favorite team. Here's how to set it up on iPhone: