Apple Support claims iPhone 13 doesn't support Phone Noise Cancellation

News
By Oliver Haslam
published

Iphone 13 Review Hero
Iphone 13 Review Hero (Image credit: Joseph Keller / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple support has confirmed that the iPhone 13 lineup does not support Phone Noise Cancellation.
  • Phone Noise Cancellation is supported on older iPhones.
  • The Accessibility feature reduces ambient noise on phone calls.

Apple Support has confirmed that the iPhone 13 lineup does not support an accessibility feature that many took for granted on older devices. According to a new report based on what Apple Support told one iPhone owner, Phone Noise Cancellation isn't supported on the new devices.

Phone Noise Cancellation is an accessibility feature that "reduces ambient noise on phone calls when you are holding the receiver to your ear." The feature worked fine on devices that supported it and it isn't clear why iPhone 13 doesn't.

The revelation comes after one user contacted Apple to ask why they didn't have the option to enable the feature, assuming it was a bug. However, it turns out that isn't the case at all.

In screenshots shared with 9to5Mac, we see Apple Support confirm the lack of support:

We have an update on this. Phone Noise Cancellation is not available on iPhone 13 models, which is why you do not see this option in Settings.

The same screenshot shows Apple confirming that this isn't a but and is rather a decision Apple made — Phone Noise Cancellation is not supported by design.

That is correct. It is not supported. If you would like to leave feedback about this feature, please feel free to visit: apple.com/Feedback.

It isn't obvious why Apple took this decision but it does seem that we can now confirm that the feature won't be coming back. It's a shame that such a feature is missing as well — I'm sure everyone would agree that the best iPhone is an accessible one.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.