Focus
With Focus mode, you can allow selected Notifications from apps or people in your contacts. You can also enable notifications from apps the that are Time Sensitive, so that apps that you choose not to have in your allowed list can still send notifications as long as they’re marked as Time Sensitive.
You can also turn on Focus from the settings or the Control Center on your iPhone. Just navigate to Control Center on your iPhone, touch and hold Focus, then select the Focus you want to turn on.
When you set a Focus, the focus icon will show on your Lock Screen and in your status bar, and your status will be displayed automatically in your Messaging app. Your contacts will see that you’ve silenced notifications if you have focus mode on, but they still have the option to notify you if it’s an urgent matter.
Focus settings will be displayed and active across all devices signed in with the same Apple ID.
Custom Focus
If none of the preset focus options have a task that you need to concentrate on, you can create your own Custom Focus by:
- Navigate to Settings > Focus.
- Click on the Add button, then hit Custom or browse additional options.
- Enter the name for your new Focus mode.
- Customize the color and choose an icon to represent your Focus, then click Next.
- Customize the options for your Focus.
Customize Pre-installed Focus
(Note: The customization settings for each pre-installed focus mode is the same for all categories with the exception of driving and sleep focus which have a pre-installed automation feature)
Focus Status
When you set up and activate a Focus, you can Share your Focus Status so that apps will display that focus is on and people who message you will know that you have your notifications silenced. The apps will only know that your notifications are silenced, so they won’t know which focus mode you have activated so the name of your activated focus is never shared. For your focus status to be shared you must have Focus turned on and you must allow apps to have permission to share that your notifications are silenced.
To turn Focus Status on:
- Go to Settings > Focus.
- Select the Focus you set up.
- Click on Focus Status, and turn it on.
Home Screen
Once you set up Focus, you can either silence notifications completely or you can also allow notifications only from the apps and people that match your Focus. You can also customize your Home Screen page so that only apps related to your Focus will be on your customized home screen and you can make that page the only accessible page while Focus enabled. You can do this by:
- Going to Settings > Focus.
- Choose the Focus that you’d like to customize, then click on Home Screen.
- Turn on Custom Pages, then choose the Home Screen pages you want to use during this Focus.
- Then click Done.
From this setting, you can also choose to Hide Notification Badges, which notifications on your Home Screen apps will be hidden.
Lock Screen
- Go to Settings > Focus.
- Choose the Focus that you’d like to customize, then click on Lock Screen.
- Turn on Dim Lock Screen or Show On Lock Screen.
Add a Schedule or Automation
You can also choose to schedule a Focus to activate at certain times, locations, or when you’re using specific apps.
To set a schedule based on certain times, locations, or apps:
- Go to Settings > Focus, then click on the Focus that you want to schedule.
- Under where it says Turn on Automatically, click on Add Schedule or Automation.
- Choose when you want the automation to happen, then follow the prompts on the screen.
If you want to use Smart Activation, which automatically applies your Focus at times throughout the day that are relevant or convenient for you, you can:
- Go to Settings > Focus, then choose the Focus that you want to activate automatically.
- Click on Smart Activation.
- Then hit Done.
When Smart Activation is on, it will automatically turn on the desired Focus at times relevant to you throughout the day based on your signals, such as location and app usage.
Driving
Driving focus has a pre-installed automation where you can choose to activate Automatically, When connected to bluetooth, or Manually from the Control Center.
Sleeping
When is sleep focus, you can schedule a time for your iPhone to activate sleep focus during “wind down” or whenever you intend to go to sleep.
