Throughout the day, our iPhones and iPads do everything they can to distract us from what we need to be doing. Before iOS 15 was released, you could just enable Do Not Disturb. But that’s not the most ideal situation if you still want some notifications to make their way through to you.
At WWDC ’21, Apple announced Focus Mode for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and even macOS Monterey. With Focus Mode, you can set up certain parameters in order to have these modes activated and determine which apps can send you notifications. You can even set up Focus Mode to let your contacts know when you’re busy, and then you’ll be properly notified after the current Focus Mode has concluded.
What is Focus Mode?
Focus Mode is essentially Do Not Disturb mode on steroids. With Do Not Disturb, it’s an all or nothing approach for your app notifications and messages from your contacts. This is fine for the most part, but it doesn’t help if you want to receive notifications from specific apps throughout the day.
When creating a Focus, you are able to pick and choose which contacts can send messages, along with which applications can notify you. This is a list that you will likely find yourself pruning on a regular basis, as new contacts are added or new apps are downloaded. Here’s how Apple described Focus when it was announced early in 2021:
Focus is a new feature that filters notifications and apps based on what a user wants to focus on. Customers can set their device to help them be in the moment by creating a custom Focus or selecting a suggested Focus, which uses on-device intelligence to suggest which people and apps are allowed to notify them.
What helps Focus stand out from other tools that attempt to do something similar is actually two-fold. For one, Focus Modes sync across all of your Apple devices, provided that they are signed into the same Apple ID. Secondly, automations can be created so that your notifications and messages only appear during certain times throughout the day.
How To Use Focus Mode in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15
The process for setting up and to use Focus Mode in iOS 15 is pretty much the same as you will find on the Mac. The only major differences come via the interface, as you need to use the Settings app instead of the System Preferences app. Nevertheless, here’s how you can set up Focus on the iPhone and iPad:
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Focus.
Select one of the preset Focus Modes listed, or click the + icon to create a custom Focus.
Presets:
Do Not Disturb
Personal
Work
Sleep
If creating a new Focus Mode, tap Custom.
Then, Name the mode, along with choosing a color and an icon.
Tap Next.
Under Allowed Notifications From: click the + button to add a contact under People.
Select a contact from the list and click the Add button.
Under Allowed Notifications From: click the + button to add an application under Apps.
Select an app from the list and click the Add button.
Under Turn On Automatically, click the + button.
Select one of the following to set up Focus Mode automations:
Add Time Based Automation
Add Location Based Automation
Add App Based Automation
Follow the on-screen steps to create your personalized Focus Mode automations.
Click the check box next to Share Focus Status if you want contacts to know that you’re busy.
Once your Focus Modes have been created, then it’s smooth sailing from here. You are now able to create automations for these modes, so that they turn on and off automatically based on your location, the time of day, or when an app is opened. Plus, these are synced across your Apple devices, provided they are running iOS 15, iPadOS 15, or macOS Monterey. These can even be used and enabled on the Apple Watch, so you won’t get buzzed and beeped on your wrist.
Manually Enable Focus Mode
Even if you go through and set up parameters for Focus Modes to be enabled automatically, you also have the ability to manually enable these. Whether it’s for when you find yourself doing work from home instead of the office on the weekend, or if you just want some quiet time to yourself.
Swipe down from the top right corner to reveal Control Center.
Under the Rotation Lock and Screen Mirroring buttons, tap Focus.
Select the Focus that you want to manually enable.
From this window, you can also tap the New Focus button at the bottom if you want to create a new Focus from scratch.
Custom Home Screens with Focus Modes
One of the best parts about Focus Mode is that you can actually set up and use select Home Screens based on the mode. So for example, if you want a “Work” mode, you can add the specific apps and widgets that you use the most, and have only those appear when the Work Focus Mode is enabled.
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
Tap Focus.
Select the mode that you want to customize.
Under Options, tap Home Screen.
Tap the toggle next to Custom Pages.
Select the Home Screen pages that you want to have shown.
Tap Done in the top right corner.
Now, whenever that Focus Mode is enabled, you’ll be presented with the specific Home Screens that you created. And when the Focus Mode is turned off (automatically or manually), your iPhone will just go back to looking like normal. What makes this even more exciting is that you can create Home Screens and hide them from your regular view, but still have them appear when the different Focus Modes are enabled.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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