Instructions for using the focus feature on iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac computers

The focus feature is really fun and useful on Apple devices. Therefore, don’t ignore Focus if you are a long-time Apple user.

Focus is a feature on Apple devices that helps users reduce distractions and focus on work, study, rest or personal activities. Focus allows you to customize the people and applications that are allowed to send notifications during specific times or situations. Users can choose from available modes such as Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work or create their own mode according to their needs.

A notable feature of Focus is the ability to automatically activate based on time, location or activity. For example, Work mode can be turned on during business hours to limit unnecessary notifications, while Sleep mode helps create a quiet environment at night. Focus can also sync between iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, allowing settings to be applied consistently across devices.

Thanks to its high personalization capabilities, Focus helps users proactively manage notifications, maintain focus and build more effective device usage habits.

Let’s continue reading the article to learn how to enable and use the focus feature on iOS 15.

Table of Contents

How to use Focus Mode on iOS 15

How to enable focus mode in iOS 15

First, let’s talk about where Focus Mode can be found and how you enable this new iOS 15 feature.

Step 1: Open Control center: On iPhones without a Home button, drag down from the top right corner; on older iPhones, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.

Step 2: Click Concentrate: Make sure to tap Concentrateinstead of crescent moon icon because the operation will only activate the mode Do not disturb.

Step 3: Choose Focus mode want to activate.

Step 4: Everyone can click three dot button next to the content for the option to set this mode for a specific time (such as 1 hour) or until leaving your current location.

How to enable focus feature on iOS 15

Step 1: Open Setting.

Step 2: Click Concentrate.

Step 3: Click on the content you want to configure.

Step 4: Users can select the recipients they want to receive notifications by clicking on the mode they want to use. Continue selecting parts People.

Step 5: Click More people to add who can contact the user.

Step 6: Check to add one or more people and select Finished.

Step 7: To remove a person from your contact list, tap minus symbol in the top left corner of the person’s icon. To remove everyone, tap Delete all.

Step 8: To choose which apps can send notifications, tap Application and choose Add apps.

Step 9: Select the app(s) you want to receive notifications, then tap Finished. People can search for an app using the search bar.

To remove an app from this list, tap minus in the top left corner of the app, or select Delete all to remove all applications.

How to customize focus mode in home screen

iOS 15 makes it possible to select the available home screen for a specific focus mode to block potentially distracting apps. Users can focus on work and lessons without being distracted by their phones. To set this feature up on your home screen, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Setting.

Step 2: Click Concentrate.

Step 3: Click on the content you want to configure.

Step 4: Click Main screen.

Step 5: To hide notification badges, tap the switch Hide notification icons.

Step 6: To choose which home screen pages appear, press the enable button Custom page.

Step 7: Check one or more home screens you want to access when Focus is turned on and tap Finished.

How to customize lock screen for focus mode

People can customize what appears on the lock screen with these steps:

Button 1: Open Setting.

Step 2: Click Concentrate.

Step 3: Click on the content you want to configure.

Step 4. Click Lock screen.

Step 5: Press the switch Dim the lock screen.

Step 6: To make muted notifications appear on the lock screen, tap the enable button Shown on lock screen.

How to automatically activate focus mode

The device can automatically activate a specific focus mode, depending on signals, such as the location in which you use the app. You can also manually select trigger criteria, such as a specific time or location, or while using a certain app.

Step 1: Open Setting and click Concentrate.

Step 2: Click on the content you want to configure.

Step 3: To choose which signals will trigger focus mode, scroll down to the section Turn on automatically and click Add a schedule or automation.

Step 4: Choose Time, Location or Applicationdepending on the conditions you want to activate Focus.

In section Timeusers can select a schedule, including hours of the day and days of the week.

In Locationpeople can choose a location like home or work, or search for another address, to activate when Focus arrives and turn off when the user leaves.

In Applicationyou can select an app that will activate this Spotlight mode when it is launched.

Step 5: To have your device automatically activate Focus, tap Smart Activation. To turn off this feature, tap Smart activation and turn off the work or Remove automation to remove.

How to create a custom focus mode

iOS 15 includes several default focus modes such as work, driving, personal, and sleep. But you can still create many of your own options with just a few simple steps

Step 1: Open the application Setting and choose Concentrate.

Step 2: Click plus in the top right corner.

Step 3: Touch Customizethen enter a name, choose a color and icon, then tap Next.

How to use Focus Mode on Apple Watch

Users can choose which apps see notifications or which contacts can receive messages. Therefore, it will be useful for people who need to focus on studying or working but still need to be contacted in case of an emergency.

However, in watchOS 8, users cannot directly create a new focus like in iOS 15 but must set Apple Watch (and other devices) to the established focus mode. Here’s how to use focus mode on Apple Watch.

Users can easily turn on focus mode right on Apple Watch with any Focus created on iPhone.

How to turn on focus mode on Apple Watch

Step 1: Swipe up on the Apple Watch face to display the Apple Watch control center.

Step 2: Click crescent moon symbol.

Step 3: Click on the focus mode you want to turn on.

Step 4: Select the time period for which the mode operates.

How to create a schedule for focus mode on Apple Watch

After creating a focus on iPhone, people can set custom schedules right on Apple Watch.

Step 1: Open Setting on Apple Watch.

Step 2: Click Concentrate.

Step 3: Continue clicking Concentrate that people want to choose the time.

Step 4: Then, choose Add new… and set the mode start and end time.

Step 5: People can uncheck the days they don’t want to turn on focus mode to remove it from the calendar.

Step 6: Tap the back button at the top left of the screen and the schedule will now run automatically according to the settings.

How to turn off focus mode calendar on Apple Watch

Users can disable or delete any Focused calendars made in Settings.

Step 1: Open Setting and choose Concentrate.

Step 2: Click on the focus item you want to turn off scheduling.

Step 3: Touch switch to turn off the set or selected schedule Erase If you want to remove the created time.

How to share Focus across devices

If you want to share Focus activated on your Apple Watch with your other devices, you need to enable option CShare across devices in settings.

Step 1: Open Setting and choose Concentrate.

Step 2: Click switch in section Share across devices to enable the feature. People can turn this feature off at any time by following the same steps.

How to use Focus Mode on Mac

With dozens of social network app notifications and emails coming in, people get distracted during work or study hours. While Do Not Disturb mode is quite useful in silencing notifications, it may miss some work notifications from Slack or Microsoft Teams. Therefore, Focus mode on macOS Monterey is the most optimal solution.

With iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey, Apple replaced the standard Do Not Disturb mode with Focus. During testing, this feature was more useful on Mac because it allows users to enjoy work and study environments without distractions.

People can choose from default centralized settings like Do Not Disturb, Home, Work, etc., or create a custom profile and allow specific apps and contacts to send notifications.

Similar to focus mode on iPhone, it’s located in Control Center on Mac. Just click Control Center from the menu bar and choose the default focus settings.

Alternatively, users can click on the small Apple icon in the upper left corner and go to the menu System Preferences. Next, click Notifications & Focus and move in Focus.

Here, people will find all the default Focus profiles for use on Mac. From the same menu it is also possible to create new custom Focus settings.

How to enable focus mode on Mac

The easiest way to enable focus mode on Mac is through Control Center with the following operations.

Step 1: Click Control Center icon on the Mac menu bar.

Step 2: Tap one small arrow next to Focus.

Step 3: Choose mode Focus to enable on Mac.

How to create a new centralized setting on Mac

People need to use Focus from System Preferences to create a custom profile.

Step 1: Click Apple logo small in the upper left corner of the menu bar.

Step 2: Go to System Preferences and choose Notifications & Focus.

Step 3: Go to menu Focus.

Step 4: Click + icon at the bottom and select Custom.

Step 5: Add the Focus setting name, theme and select a relevant icon.

Step 6: Words Allowed Notificationsselect People.

Step 7: Add a contact name who can reach everyone during business hours.

Step 8: From the Apps menu, click + icon and choose which apps can send notifications when focus mode is on.

Users can also automatically enable focus mode based on Time, Location, or the type of app they open on their Mac.

For example, people can configure Coding Focus to turn on automatically whenever they open the Xcode app on Mac. Open the Microsoft Word app and your Mac can enable Writing Focus.

If working during fixed hours, users can also set time-based automation from centralized mode. From Focus > Enable Automaticallyclick + icon and create automatically.

How to share focus mode settings across Apple devices

Users can share newly created Focus profiles across all Apple devices. Enable the Focus profile on your Mac and iCloud will enable it on all Apple devices running the same account.

Step 1: Use keyboard shortcuts Command + Space and open Spotlight Search.

Step 2: Search System Preferences and press Enter to open.

Step 3: Enter Notifications & Focus and select a mode Focus that want to share with other Apple devices.