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Show HN: I built a simple ambient sound app with no ads or subscriptions

(ambisounds.app)
313 points alpaca121 | 6 comments | 12 Oct 25 14:49 UTC | HN request time: 0.334s | source | bottom

I’ve always liked having background noise while working or falling asleep, but I got frustrated that most “white noise” or ambient sound apps are either paywalled, stuffed with ads, or try to upsell subscriptions for basic features.

So I made Ambi, a small iOS app with a clean interface and a set of freely available ambient sounds — rain, waves, wind, birds, that sort of thing. You can mix them, adjust volume levels, and just let it play all night or while you work. Everything works offline and there are no hidden catches.

It’s something I built for myself first, but I figured others might find it useful too. Feedback, bugs, and suggestions are all welcome.

https://apps.apple.com/app/ambi-white-noise-sleep-sounds/id6...

1. brunosutic ◴[13 Oct 25 08:50 UTC] No.45566230[source]▶
We have 3 young kids in the range from 2 to 5 years old. We use white noise heavily for our kids sleep. It isolates them from the noises we make around the house.

For this purpose I recommend "LectroFan" devices. We have like 5 "LectroFan Evos" in our's and our kids' bedrooms. They just work, no apps, no upgrades, no LEDs blinking, and thank god, no screens. These devices are worth their amount in gold.

On the phone I recommend using iOS built-in white noise feature. We use it when travelling by car, and our kids sleep in their seats. When we turn the white noise on they stop talking and it quickly lulls them into sleep.

replies(4): >>45566436 #>>45567129 #>>45568694 #>>45574382 #
2. jedimastert ◴[13 Oct 25 09:25 UTC] No.45566436[source]▶
It's kinda funny these things exist to me. I actually used to keep a window AC unit when I could have upgrade to something much nicer because the noise helped me sleep.
3. tmountain ◴[13 Oct 25 11:20 UTC] No.45567129[source]▶
Same here, we have a lot of noise in our area. I have a LectroFan, and it's invaluable. It's simplicity is what makes it so great. We don't need apps for everything. In fact, I prefer to avoid them when possible.
4. lukevp ◴[13 Oct 25 14:27 UTC] No.45568694[source]▶
What’s the built in white noise feature in iOS? First time hearing about this!
replies(1): >>45569131 #
5. somedude895 ◴[13 Oct 25 15:05 UTC] No.45569131[source]▶
Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds

It's quite hidden in there but I think you can create shortcuts / quick access to it.

6. gblargg ◴[13 Oct 25 23:19 UTC] No.45574382[source]▶
Seconded on LectroFan. I've been using one for years for sleeping all night. No looping at all. Inside it only has 16K of flash, not enough to store samples. I once recorded it for 8 hours and looked for any repeating dips in the waveform, but found nothing. I used the old analog Marsona units for decades before this, so it had some good competition. Customer service was great when I contacted them years ago with a rattling problem with one of mine.