Apple's iOS 15 brought a whole host of new features to iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch when it launched in September 2021, including something called Focus. That feature was then expanded on in iOS 16 in September 2022 and no more major changes are expected to come with iOS 17 so here is everything you need to know about Focus, including what it is and how it works.

What is Apple's Focus feature on iPhone, iPad, Watch and Mac?

Apple's Focus is a feature designed to help you automatically filter notifications and apps on your Apple devices based on your status, in order to help you "find focus" - hence the name.

The idea is to reduce distractions and it works across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. You can set your device to a certain Focus, such as Personal, Work, Exercising, Gaming or Sleep, and your device will automatically hide distractions, signal to friends that you are not available and filter notifications.

What is Apple's Focus feature on iPhone and iPad and how does it work? photo 2How does Apple's Focus feature work?

The Apple Focus feature works by using on-device intelligence to suggest a Focus - like Working - based on a user's context, such as working hours for example. The feature then suggests people and apps that are allowed to notify you when a Focus has been set.

You can also create a custom Focus though, and for each Focus, you can create Home Screen pages with apps and widgets that apply to the respective Focus you have chosen and only display relevant apps to reduce temptation.

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Apple / Pocket-lint

When a Focus is blocking notifications, Messages will display the status to users who contact you, showing that you are unavailable at the moment. Contacts can reply with urgent if they want a message to get through though, similar to how Do Not Disturb when Driving kicks in.

Once a Focus is set on one of your Apple devices, it will be set across all your Apple devices.

What is Apple's Focus feature on iPhone and iPad and how does it work? photo 4How to set up the Apple Focus feature

To set up Focus on your iPhone and iPad, follow the steps below:

  1. Make sure your device is running iOS 16 or iPadOS 16 for all the features
  2. Launch Control Centre on your device
  3. You'll see the Focus tile
  4. Long press and hold to bring up the Focus menu.
  5. Tap on a Focus option - Do Not Disturb, Sleep, Personal or Work - to get started. Sleep and Do Not Disturb have settings like scheduling options, while Personal and Work have more customisation.
  6. You can also tap on 'New Focus' at the bottom to create your own, such as Gaming or Exercise.
  7. Follow the on screen instructions.
  8. You can also access the Focus feature through Settings.
What is Apple's Focus feature on iPhone and iPad and how does it work? photo 6
Pocket-lint

The on-screen instructions include choosing which contacts you want notifications from when the Focus is turned on, which apps you want notifications from and choosing whether you want time-sensitive notifications to come through.

A summary screen then appears for that particular Focus, where you can further customise things, such as your Home Screen, toggling on or off a dimmed lock screen, toggling on or off sharing your Focus Status, and turning on or off Smart Activation.

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Pocket-lint

To set up Focus on your Mac, follow the steps below:

  1. Make sure your Mac is running macOS 15 or later
  2. Launch the Control Centre (two-bar icon next to the search icon in the top right corner of your display)
  3. You'll see the Focus tile by default when you upgrade to macOS 15
  4. Tap on a Focus option
  5. Choose Focus Settings to allow you to customise your Focus a little
  6. Focus Settings can also be accessed via Notifications in System Settings, accessed via the Apple menu in the top left.

What is Apple's Focus feature on iPhone and iPad and how does it work? photo 7Want to know more?

You can read our iOS 16 feature, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9 features for more about the latest features available on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. We also have a feature on macOS.