Apple

Did Apple drop support for built-in noise cancellation on the iPhone 13?

This has been a long-running feature on previous iPhones, but now it is missing. What gives?

by
Kevin Raposo
January 18, 2022

Image: Unsplash

Apple’s “Noise Cancellation” feature on the iPhone is a helpful accessibility tool that’s designed to “reduce ambient noise on phone calls when you are holding the receiver to your ear.” In other words, it makes calls easier to hear.

This has been a long-running feature on previous iPhones, and it’s still supported in iOS 15, but it seems Apple has completely abandoned it on the iPhone 13.

Shortly after the phone launched, readers noticed the feature was no longer listed on the Accessibility page, prompting questions on Reddit and Apple support pages.

This absence of Noise Cancellation on the iPhone 13 in media was first pointed out by the folks at 9to5Mac. When one of their readers asked Apple Support what the deal was with the missing feature, Apple told them it was “not supported.”

“Phone Noise Cancellation is not available on iPhone 13 models, which is why you do not see this option in [the Accessibility] settings,” Apple support writes to a 9to5Mac reader.

I don’t have an iPhone 13, so I can’t really confirm that the feature is missing, but after checking with a friend who has one, he confirmed that the feature isn’t there in the Accessibility settings. On the other hand, when checking the settings on my iPhone 12, the feature is there.

Apple hasn’t officially confirmed anything, apart from the messages on its Apple Support pages. And there’s no telling if they plan to add it back. But it’s strange for them to remove something that’s readily available on other iPhones without giving any reason as to why.

If you rely on this built-in noise cancellation functionality, 9to5Mac notes the only workaround available is activating the Voice Isolation feature on a call in the Control Center. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment and will update this post if we hear back.

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