Last month at WWDC, Apple announced a new feature for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac called Focus. With this tool you can adjust your notifications based on which notifications you find interesting at that moment. In this article we explain exactly how Focus works.
Focus is actually an addition to the Do Not Disturb feature, with which you can, for example, prevent you from seeing messages or being called while you are at work. With Focus you can also make such adjustments outside of the Do Not Disturb function, but with many more options. With Do Not Disturb you will not receive any notifications at all, with Focus you decide which notifications you still want to receive.
Enable focus
You enable Focus manually via the Control Panel or via the Settings app by creating a “focus moment”, as it were. This can be the moment when you are at work or playing sports, for example. You can then set per app or contact whether you want to be disturbed during this moment.
It is also possible to automatically switch on a focus moment, for example every working day from 9 to 5. You do not have to switch on the Focus mode yourself every time.
Time-sensitive notifications
There are also so-called time-sensitive notifications, with which Apple can determine on the basis of artificial intelligence whether a notification should be shown immediately, even though you have the focus mode on. This prevents you from missing important messages during your focus moments. For example, you will be left alone if you receive an advertising email, but you will receive a notification when your package has been delivered to a collection point. If you are not interested in this, you can also turn off time-sensitive notifications.
You can even customize notifications based on your current location. For example, your phone can recognize that you are at work or in the gym, after which the focus moment for work or fitness starts automatically. Useful! You can also synchronize all focus moments on your smartphone with all your other Apple devices.
How to mute notifications on your Mac
Unlock phone
Focus also differs from the Do Not Disturb feature in another way. If you have Do Not Disturb turned on, you can in principle still see incoming messages on your screen, without having to unlock your phone. This does not work with the Function option: you really have to unlock your phone before you can see the notifications. This prevents you from seeing a message, so that you are completely distracted again.
Do you have Focus on? Then people who send you a message will receive a notification of your status, so that they know that you do not want to be disturbed and (presumably) will not respond so quickly.
Focus will be available in the fall for iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS 12 Monterey.
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