Dark Noise
Dark Noise is an ambient noise app that has been available for iOS since August, 2019.
Dark Noise is an easy-to-use and straightforward ambient noise app developed for iOS (available on iPad, iPhone, and... iPod Touch (I guess)). It's a well-crafted app that features over 40 different ambient sounds and integrates into Shortcuts and Apple's widget framework for easy accessibility.
Love
Embedded iOS Features: Dark Noise leverages many of Apple's APIs to make it dead simple to access. Shortcuts can quickly be added to allow Dark Noise to be accessed via Siri: "Hey Siri... play Grey Noise", through the Shortcuts application, or via a widget on the iPhone or iPad. This allows a user to customize how to access Dark Noise in a way that fits their workflow, rather than insisting that they go directly through the application.
Intuitive: Dark Noise is designed to be like that friend you love/hate who always knows what you want a second before you ask for it. The right controls appear when and where you need them to be, without you needing to go on an Indiana Jones-esque expedition through hamburger menus to find what you want. Want a sleep timer? It's probably that clock icon that appears when you start playing a sound. Have a favourite noise? You can probably select that by tapping on the heart icon beside it.
Refined: Elegant animations, a fast and responsive UI design, the ability to choose from several colour themes, and selection of app icons¹ (including a neon tube motif that was all the rage around WWDC last year), bring a lot of fit and finish to this simple app.
Decent Library: Dark Noise features 40+ sounds across a range of categories, from traditional white/pink/brown/grey noises to nearly a dozen water sounds, half a dozen appliance sounds, and several nature, fire, and urban sounds!
Dislike
Not Enough Nature: The ambient noise app racket seems like a pretty challenging marketplace to make a name for yourself in. Typing 'Nature Sounds' or 'Ambient' in the App Store loads an infinitely scrolling list of apps that are difficult to tell apart. I wish that Dark Noise added a range or more textured nature soundscapes (e.g., waves on a beach, walking through a forest) into their sound collection to help it out even more from the rest of the pack. Then again, I'm not sure if that sort of request breaks rank with what a 'noise' app is supposed to do.
Wish For
Multiple Sound Options: I remember in the early days of iOS there was an application called Ambiance by Urban Apps (it's still around, it just hasn't been updated in seven years) which, for example, had a selection of coffee shop soundscapes or different aircraft cabin sounds to choose from. Maybe I'm picky and can only fall asleep to the dull hum of a Boeing 757, not the barking of an Airbus A320 engine! I'd love to see a feature come to Dark Noise where I could select from amongst multiple options for similar sound environments.
More Nature!
And An Explanation: About who plays the hairdryer, construction, vacuum, or snoring sounds for any other purpose other than to annoy the people around them!
Dark Noise is available on the App Store for iOS for 4.99
External Link:
Dark Noise Website: darknoise.app
¹I love the inclusion of the app icons drawn by the developers two sons!
