Spotify has brought its iOS app up to speed with Android versions in one key regard, after a few months' wait, by bringing its Sleep Timer tool to the table. 

The feature's been available to Android users since May this year, but is now being activated for iOS by the streaming giant. 

It's a pretty simple proposition, but one that will be welcomed by anyone who likes to fall asleep to music, yet doesn't love being woken up suddenly when their playlist takes a turn for the loud. 

The setting lets you set a countdown timer of between five minutes and an hour, after which time the audio you're listening to will fade to silence, letting you sleep on in serenity. 

It's easy to activate, too. Once the mode is active, which should be happening over the course of today around the world, just tap the three dots to the top right of the 'now playing' screen with your music or audio of choice. Select 'Sleep Timer' from the list of options that pop up, and you'll be able to determine the timer's duration. 

It's taken Spotify a while to get this feature out like it did ages ago on the Android version of its app, but it's no surprise to see another major tech company turning its attention to sleep. The proliferation of sleep tracking apps, and indeed of dedicated sleep monitoring devices, has been clear to see in the last few years. In fact, there are still rumours all over the place that Apple will be the next big player to deploy its own Sleep app for the Apple Watch