AirPods Pro 3 have a surprise hidden feature – I use it all the time

When it comes to the earbud market, there are countless options out there, but it would naive to pretend that Apple doesn't have something of a chokehold thanks to its AirPods lineup. It's hugely popular for good reason, with excellent sound quality relative to whatever price you go for, and the latest version only launched last year.

The AirPods Pro 3 arrived in September last year, and despite having a drawer full of excellent earbuds that I've reviewed in recent months, I was happy to pre-order them with my own money – and I've been loving them ever since. The big win for me is the quick swapping of audio between my MacBook Pro, Apple Watch and iPhone, but I've also been using a feature that you might not know as much about.

Background Sounds can be a life-saver

I very much get that many of us like to listen to music and podcasts all day, every day, but it's never really been my way of operating. That isn't some humblebrag about my mindfulness or focus levels, it's just realism about how I operate – if I put music on, I get distracted from whatever I'm doing, and the same goes for podcasts.

Sure, there are times (like long train rides) when I want to zone out into an album, but most of the time I'm trying to read or work, and the distraction can't help. Still, while the AirPods Pro 3 have great active noise-cancelling (ANC) for earbuds, there's a hidden feature that can really help make things even more cocooning – Background Sounds.

This isn't unique to the AirPods Pro 3, and can in fact work with any headphones you connect to your iPhone, and it does exactly what it sounds like, laying down a choice of background noise tracks to help you focus on whatever you're doing (including potentially sleeping). These range from pure white noise static to my personal choice, the sound of a rainstorm, and they're all super chilled-out and lowkey.

I find the feature a total blessing for public transport and any other loud environment – especially if I've forgotten to get any other audio downloaded and don't really have any options. Alternatively, as mentioned, it can be great for tuning people out on the Tube and getting a bit more engrossed in a book.

So, this might not be a game-changer for everyone, but if you find you want more focus while using your AirPods, you can find the feature by adding it to your Control Centre.

To do that, just pull down your Control Centre, then long-press somewhere that isn't a button. You'll see the option at the bottom of your screen to "Add a Control", and the feature is listed under the Hearing Accessibility section. Add the widget and you'll be able to quickly activate it when you like.