The different concentration modes available on the iPhone

Apple added focus modes with iOS 15 to help us stay focused on the task at hand. The idea was to keep you “in the moment” Filter apps or notifications that you don’t want to show at specific times.

In iOS 16 and iOS 17, Apple also added new options to speed up the process. This includes the ability to turn off notifications from specific apps or people, as well as Pair focus modes to lock screens and watch faces. Let’s see them!

When you start setting up focus modes, it can seem a little intimidating. There are many options and many ways to adjust them. In fact, it may take some time to get the best combination of settings for your lifestyle. But in the end, it will be worth it because you won’t be able to fully immerse yourself in a task without irrelevant notifications bothering you.

Focus Modes on iOS

Accessing focus modes is simple and we have several ways to do it:

• We can do this through Control center, you will simply have to swipe down from the upper right corner and you will see the focus modes. By default, it will be the moon icon. When you tap on it, your main Do Not Disturb profile will be activated. If you press the button elsewhere, you’ll see a selection of other profiles you can activate. Once you start using focus modes more frequently, the icon displayed by default will be the focus mode you last used. Tap the three dots to the right of each button and you can set how long you want that focus profile to be active. Or you can tap the Settings button to adjust the settings for this focus.
• But maybe the best way to start is to go to Settings > Focus Modeswhere you can configure all the different focus profiles you plan to use.

Configure the different profiles

When you first open the Focus Modes page in your Settings, you’ll see a list of several profiles, starting with Basic Do not disturb, then move on to others, such as driving, rest, free time and work.

But if you tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of the screen, you’ll find more, like fitness, gaming, mindfulness, and reading. If none of them suit you, you can create a custom profile. Furthermore, There is an option that allows you to share profiles across your different Apple devices.

Setting up focus modes may seem a little confusing, but it’s simple, let’s see how to do it:

Do not disturb

The first thing you see on the focus modes page is Do Not Disturb (we’ll use this mode as an example). If you tap it, a submenu appears designed to help you find out which people and apps can send notifications when the mode is on.

After that, you will see options to customize screens, an option to automatically turn the mode on and off at certain times, and focus filters that allow you to customize how apps work in a specific focus.

Enable notifications

Focus modes allow you to specify which people or apps can continue to notify you even if you have an active mode, in this case Do Not Disturb. For example, you might want to allow calls from family members or notifications from your work Slack if they can arrive.

Now too You have the option to turn off notifications from specific people or apps.

To make these exceptions, tap the People or Apps boxes to access the Notifications page.

Disable or allow people notifications

To customize this section, follow these steps:

• First tap the People box. You should see two options at the top: Turn off notifications from or Allow notifications from.
• To add people to the list, tap the plus button. From there, you should see your contact list. Tap the contacts you want to add to your list and when you return to the notifications page, they will appear in the box. If you want to remove someone, you can tap the minus button at the top left of their contact’s photo.
• You can also choose who you want to allow calls to in the Phone Calls area (which is just below the area that displays your contacts). Tap the drop-down list to select Everyone, Allowed people only, Favorites, or Contacts only. If you have created specific contact groups, those should also appear here.

Disable or allow app notifications

To customize this section, follow these steps:

• If you choose one or more apps in Do Not Disturb, tap the Apps tab, then tap the plus button.
• You will get a list of your installed apps. Check the ones you want to add to the Allowed notifications from or Muted notifications from list, then select Done. at the top right of the page. You will now see the apps you chose in the box next to the plus sign.
• If you change your mind about one of your apps, simply tap the minus sign next to each icon.
• You can also allow urgent notifications to arrive by enabling them. Urgent notifications come from apps that you’ve individually labeled as important enough to break any filter, no matter what. To select the applications that are important to you, you must exit “Focus” and go to Settings > Notifications; Select the app(s) you want to evaluate, such as Calendar, and make sure urgent notifications are enabled for that app.

Customize screens

You can also associate a focus with a specific lock screenalready have a watch face if you own an Apple Watch.

To do this, simply follow these steps:

• First scroll down to the menu Customize Do Not Disturb screens (or whatever profile you configure). You should see two or three icons: a lock screen, a home screen, and (if you have a watch) a face.
• Now tap the blue Choose link under each to select from your existing lock screens, home screens, and watch faces.
• If you’re feeling creative, you can also create new lock screens, home screens, or watch faces for each mode. This takes a little more time, but will likely give you the best customization.
• When you select pages on the Home screen, Apple now offers suggestions based on the focus mode you program. You can also create your own home screens, but it takes more time. This involves creating your own home screens and hiding them when you’re not in mode. Apple’s suggestions are pretty good, but it’s a workable solution if you don’t like any of them.

Automatically activate one of the concentration modes

Some focus modes you will want to activate manually but you can also program them. You can automate focus modes to activate them at a certain time or place, or when you open a particular app. To do this, follow the following steps:

• First, in the Do Not Disturb Page (or another profile) Auto-Activate menu, tap Add Time to access one of these options. You can activate Do Not Disturb mode at a set time, or when you arrive at the office and every time you open the Netflix app, for example.

Filters in concentration modes

We also have the option to apply application or system filters with a specific mode. You’re a bit limited on options at this point, but the ones that are available are useful. To find these filters, follow these steps:

• First Scroll down to the main Do Not Disturb page.
• You can set a calendar filter so that only a specific calendar appears. You can also filter messages so you only see messages from the people you want. In Safari, you can choose to limit yourself to viewing a specific group of tabs. As for system filters, you can choose to switch to dark or light mode or enable low power mode.

Other options

• In the Options menu, under People & Apps allowed/silencedYou can choose to show disabled notifications on the lock screen, dim the lock screen, or hide notification badges.
• You can choose to share your focus status. So if someone texts you, they’ll get a screen saying your notifications are turned off. On the main Focus page, scroll down until you see the Focus Status menu. Next, enable split focus status.
• You can also customize the modes from which you share your status. For example, you can turn it on for driving and off for sleeping.

conclusion

Now, when you tap the Focus Mode icon in Control Center, all the features you created for your profile will be enabled. Note that the last active profile will be the one that appears: for example, if you last used your driving profile, the focus button will display the car icon.