

Your iPhone can detect these sounds and issue alerts for you when your iPhone is locked.

And you can use it to help identify your baby crying in the next room or over a baby monitor, tell you when your oven timer is up, or let you know when your tea kettle is whistling. It's also capable of detecting car horns, doorbells, and door knocks for when you have a special delivery you need to sign for, like a new MacBook or hot meal.

When enabled, your iPhone can recognize a set of predefined sounds, including life-saving sirens, fire alarms, and smoke alarms. Two additional sounds were implemented on iOS 15, and iOS 16 opened up the possibilities with custom sound detection. It was introduced on iOS 14 with 13 recognizable sounds available, and it has only gotten better since. Sound Recognition, the feature in question, leverages Apple's Sound Analysis framework and on-device intelligence to listen for and identify specific sounds in your environment using your iPhone's default microphones. Why You Should Be Using Apple's Sound Recognition
