Here’s exactly how to use your iPhone as a white noise sound machine

Thanks to smartphones, the days of lugging around a sound machine on your travels to help soothe frazzled nerves at the end of the day have been over for quite some time.

That said, there’s an almost endless collection of iPhone white-noise apps available on Apple’s App Store—some are great, while most leave more than a bit to be desired.

If you’re looking for great ones, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a handful of worthy contenders to check out.

iPhone Background Sounds

First things first: You don’t need to pay for a white noise generator. There’s already a free, built-in collection of white noise sounds on your iPhone called “Background Sounds” that you can use.

It’s not an app, per se, and can be a bit difficult to find. You can access it by going to Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds.

From there, you’ve got access to a small collection of sounds: rain, stream, ocean, balanced noise, bright noise, and dark noise.

Now, let’s look at some of the best third-party white-noise generating apps.

myNoise

Not content to simply overpower unwanted sounds around you, myNoise includes 10 frequency-based sliders meant to help block out noise without your having to crank up the volume.

The app offers 20 freebie sounds, plus there’s an entire website featuring all the available sounds to use from your browser.

For a one-time payment of $20, you can get all the app’s sounds unlocked, which adds extras, including alarms, timers, and AirPlay streaming.

Deep Sleep Sounds

Looking for everyday white noise? Take Deep Sleep Sounds for a spin. The free version of the app offers up such classics as Vacuum Cleaner, Air Conditioner, Cat Purring, among others. You can mix multiple sounds together as well.

There’s also a premium version, starting at $6 per month, that adds enhanced sounds, unlimited playback (the free version shuts off after eight hours), and a collection of ASMR audio clips.

Portal—Immersive Escapes

If you thought white noise was an audio-only affair, think again. The innovative Portal app pairs serene sounds with lifelike visuals from peaceful corners of the world.

The app features programs for working, unwinding, and sleeping—and even offers compatibility with Philips Hue and Nanoleaf smart lighting.

The free version offers a handful of experiences while the premium version (starting at $10 per month or $50 per year) unlocks all 80-plus portals.

BetterSleep

If better sleep is literally what you’re after, check out the BetterSleep app. With a customizable sound library of more than 300 sounds and music tracks, it also offers more than 250 meditations, hypnosis sessions, and stories to help put you to sleep.

Also, there’s an easy-to-use sleep tracker as well as sleep recording features.

The app has a free version with limited features or is available to unlock for $10 per month or $60 per year.

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