I’ve been testing iOS 18.2 since the first beta, but barely paid attention to it. This is because I’m an iPhone user in Europe, which means I don’t get any of the Apple Intelligence features available in iOS 18.2 elsewhere. Therefore, I hardly paid attention to the other features of the iOS 18.2 version, even though I installed all the beta versions since the first one.
Turns out there’s an awesome volume control feature in iOS 18.2 called Volume Limit that I almost lack. As the name suggests, the feature will allow you to set volume limits for specific content, which is something I absolutely want from my iPhone.
I’ve explained more than once why the AirPods Pro 2 hearing test and hearing aid features are so amazing. I have some hearing loss and want to limit exposure to music and loud noises as much as possible. AirPods will help me monitor my hearing in the future.
The iPhone already helps me by giving me notifications when ambient noise is too loud. However, the volume of media playing on the device can still be an issue.
Over a year ago, I told you how to automatically adjust the volume on my iPhone to protect my hearing when wearing AirPods. This is the primary way I consume media, which usually happens when I’m training for marathons. I can listen to music and podcasts for hours.
One thing to remember is that the iPhone has a Headphone safety available feature that allows you Reduce loud sounds. But I went beyond that by creating an automation for iPhone that sets the AirPods volume to 50% every time I connect them. This essentially reduces the chance of the iPhone being at the maximum volume setting whether I’m using headphones or not.
Now that iOS 18.2 is released, Volume limit will give me another weapon to avoid accidental exposure to noisy media playback. THE functionality is available in the Sound and haptics menu of Settings app and concerns the iPhone speaker.
Activate it and you can then select the maximum volume of your speakers. You can choose between 20% and 90%. The limit will apply to all kinds of media, but not to calls, notifications and other alerts:
Set a limit on the volume of sound your iPhone speaker can play, such as songs, movies, and other media.
This limit does not affect phone calls or FaceTime calls, emergency calls and alerts, ringtones, alarms, system sounds, or Find My sounds.
Suppose you set the limit to 60%, like in the example below; iPhone speaker volume will not go higher when you adjust it. The volume bar will tell you that you’ve reached maximum, but that’s only 60% of the speaker’s capacity.
Switch this limit to 70% and the volume bar will adjust accordingly. You can increase the volume by another 10%.
I plan to set my iPhone’s volume limit to 60% when playing media on the speakers. The AirPods shortcut will keep the volume at 50% while I’m wearing them. Hopefully these measures will reduce my exposure to loud sounds and prevent further hearing loss in years to come.
