What is Focus Status on iOS? Best iOS & iPadOS Guide

iOS 15 is the most recent Operating System (OS) version for Apple iPhones. If you are an Apple Inc connoisseur, you may have read the release notes published by the developers at Apple. One of the newer features that have been launched with the iOS version 15 is the Focus Mode. 

What is Focus Status on iOS 15? Best iOS & iPadOS guide

Even if you have not read them, you may have come across this feature on your iPhone. If this has sparked curiosity and you are looking for something that helps you learn more about this feature, we got you. 

This article will answer your question “What is focus status” and the other questions that follow. We scoured a lot of resources and tested this feature ourselves before making this guide to explain the new Focus Mode on iOS 15. 

What does the Focus Mode do? 

As the name suggests, the iOS 15 Focus Mode was designed to help the iPhone user concentrate more on the more productive parts of the user’s life. This feature cuts most of the factors that can potentially distract the user from getting things done by removing/reducing those that come from their iPhone. 

For instance, when enabled this mode does not show notifications or phone calls from people, unless they are whitelisted. If you look at this feature from a different perspective, you should be seeing something very familiar to the existing Do Not Disturb (DnD) mode. In this analogy, you could be using the Focus mode and the features that are better and more than that of DnD.

Four Key Attributes of the Focus Mode feature

There are four main features that can be very helpful to you if you are trying to be productive and need more cooperation from your iPhone.

Soundless Device Notifications

When this mode is enabled on your iPhone, you will not see or hear notifications in any way. Exceptions can be made through the Focus Mode’s configurations. Even if someone tries to contact you for an emergency purpose

Whitelisting Contacts

You can choose to allow notifications from certain people and applications. This could be your family, friends, or colleagues who could be trying to contact you for any important purposes.

Setting availability statuses

If you have enabled the Focus mode, it will announce to the application servers and other people that your notifications would be silent, even if received. When these contacts attempt to connect with you on your iPhone, they will receive a message stating that your device has temporarily disabled notifications. 

Automatic enabling & disabling

This is for users who wish to put lesser effort into starting to concentrate more on what they do. If you are using the focus mode, you can set your iPhone to automatically enable or disable when it satisfies criterium like time, active application, or location. 

This eliminates the need to turn this feature on manually. Users will find this feature extremely helpful if they run by a specific schedule.

Why do I need the Focus Mode?

If you are someone who loves to stick to a rigid schedule and get the assigned amount of work done within that timetable, check what we have next. You will find these four reasons very encouraging to use the Focus Mode. 

Boosted Productivity

This is the main target of activating focus mode on your iOS device. You get to work more with this feature enabled, which means higher productivity and larger output. As the name suggests, this is what could be helping you focus on what you need to do, may it be a work deadline, college assignment, or any other tasks you want to be carried out. 

Automated Focus Management

Users do not have to, manually, enable or disable the Focus Mode on their device. You should be able to set a scheduled method to get the focus mode running, whenever and wherever you choose to. This reduces the efforts of the users who are trying to focus.

Lesser or No Distractions

With the Focus mode enabled, you can cut out the possible notifications that can get your mind off work. This feature will completely silence all the notifications you receive or the ones you think will distract you. 

Reduced Configuration Time

Focus mode is not very complicated to set up. The procedure to get this initialized shouldn’t take more than a few seconds, even when customizing a focus mode for yourself.

Focus Status and Share Focus Status

You could wonder what a Focus Status means when you read the heading above. When users enable the Focus feature on their iOS 15 or iPadOS device, the notifications stop appearing on their screen. 

This information about you not being able to see the notifications until this feature is disabled will be relayed to the people who have been trying to contact you when you are focussing on your work. The auto-reply message sent to these contacts is known as the Focus status. 

Generally, it lets the callers or text message senders that your device notifications are silent and they can’t contact you at the moment. This is done so that they can find a different way to contact you, if necessary, especially during emergencies. 

Types of Focus modes in iOS & iPadOS

There are several focus modes that you can activate on your iOS or iPadOS by default. These modes vary in timing and other configurations depending on what this focus timing is used for. These are some focus modes an iOS 15 user can create on their iPhone. 

  • Sleep
  • Working out
  • Driving
  • Office
  • Meditation
  • Private
  • Gaming
  • Saving the best for the last; Customizable

All of these modes you set can be accessed through any of your Apple devices through iCloud. When you enable this feature on one of your iOS or iPadOS devices, it will be activated on all the devices in your Apple atmosphere.

Apps that support Share Focus Status

If you are wondering if the apps you use would be compatible with the Focus mode feature, you have every reason to. Some application(s) you use regularly can bring up a lot of notification badges. This could be the reason why you are trying to use the Focus mode in the first place. 

It is not an unknown fact that Focus Mode is a newer feature in Apple’s latest version release of iOS and iPadOS, which was launched in September 2021. This means that all iPhone apps and iOS users will be notified. 

There isn’t a definitive list of apps that support the Focus mode. This is mainly because this feature is relatively new. 

Applications and the Focus Status feature

App developers now have the release notes for this feature and will work towards making their products compatible with Apple’s Focus mode. In the case of third-party communication or social media platforms, like Whatsapp or Instagram, they might not receive a focus status when someone tries to contact you through these platforms.

Initializing a Focus Status

Hoping you are interested in the Focus status feature, we have mentioned the different methods to set this feature up on your iPhone.

Initializing a Focus Status

There are two different places in the iOS 15 User Interface (UI) – the iPhone lock screen & Control Center.

Control Center

The Control Center is the base operating area for many iOS and iPadOS features. This is where you will have to set the Focus feature up on your iPhone or iPad. 

There are two types of Apple handheld devices – with and without buttons. Both of them have unique methods to access the Control Center. 

Devices with a home button – Swipe the screen from the bottom, upwards, up to the top of the screen for bringing the Control Center up. 

Devices without a home button – Swipe on your screen from the upper right corner, downwards. 

Once the Control Center is up, use the steps below – 

Control Center
  • In the Control Center, touch the Focus button and long-press it. Special emphasis on not tapping the crescent moon icon as this will put your iPhone in the Do Not Disturb mode. 
  • Choose any of your focus modes to enable it for your iPhone.
focus modes

Note: The Do Not Disturb mode has also been upgraded and is now customizable. 

Lock Screen

Using the lock screen is your easiest option to turn the Focus mode on or off. You just have to initialize this feature in the Control Center first, for it to be available on the lock screen page. 

  • Once you have activated Focus mode, you should be able to see an icon of a person’s silhouette under the lock screen clock. Touch this icon and hold it till you see the focus menu options. 
  •  Select the Focus Mode that you want to set your iPhone to be in.
  • Choose a specific timing for this to be automatically activated, if you want to. If you do not want to choose a time, you will have to switch this feature off manually. 

Customization of Focus Mode in iOS & iPadOS

This is yet another reminder of the customizing feature for the Focus Mode. You can modify the feature through different categories in the interface. 

Updating the Focus Status settings

If you want to use the custom focus modes feature, you will need to know where to look for the configurations that will help you adjust the Focus modes. If you are wondering about the focus status that you have enabled on your device and how to adjust it, here’s what you have to do. 

  • Launch the iOS settings of your Apple smartphone.
Focus settings
  • Navigate to the Focus settings page and move to it. 
Navigate to the Focus settings page
  • Tap on the Focus mode that you set up.
  • Select the Focus Status and enable it.

Custom Lock Screen

In this context, customizing the iPhone’s lock screen means that users can reduce the screen brightness on this page and adjust the message/notification alerts displayed on the lock screen. 

  • Open the iPhone settings on your device and go into the Focus settings. 
go into the Focus settings
  • Choose the Lock Screen option in the Options section
  • Look for the Dim Lock Screen toggle switch.
Dim Lock Screen toggle switch
  • Enable this option and also the Show on Lock Screen feature, under the before mentioned toggle button.

Custom Home Screen Focus

If you want the Focus you created to make changes to the iPhone’s home screen, you will need to follow the steps below – 

  • Bring the Settings page and move to the Focus settings. 
  • Tap on the Focus and on this page, choose the Home Screen option in the Options section. 
  • Enable the Custom Pages option and choose the HomeScreen pages used when the Focus mode is active.
Custom Home Screen Focus
  • Touch the Done option, when you have finished making the changes.

Optionally, users can hide notification badges on the home screen here also. 

Custom Focus Mode name and image

This is optional but can look impressive with a customized appearance and icon for your Focus mode. This will improve the way your Focus mode looks and it’ll be the way you want it to be. 

There is a separate option to manage this; The Name & Appearance option allows you to select a color and an icon for the focus mode you want to edit. You have to tap the Done button when you are, to save the changes. 

Whitelisting Phone Calls for the Focus Mode

When a Focus is active, the device will not receive phone calls or messages; even during emergencies. This could have a lot of consequences. This is why you will have to add a few iPhone contacts to a whitelist that can call you even when a focus is active.

  • Open the iPhone settings and go to Focus settings.
  • Select the focus that you want to add a whitelist to.
  • Find the People section on this page. This can be found in the Allowed Notifications section. 
Whitelisting Phone Calls for the Focus Mode
  • Choose the Calls From option and select the Receive calls only from Favorites option. 

Once this has been enabled, the call from the “Favorites” person will not be muted if the contact calls you more than once within 3 minutes. 

Disabling the Focus Mode feature

Turning a Focus off is very simple. You have two ways to do this – through the Control Center or automation. 

Control Center

This is your easiest option to disable Focus or even the Do Not Disturb mode on your iPhone. iPhone or iPad users can bring this up with the steps, we have mentioned previously and tap on the toggle button to disable it. 

Automatic Disabling

Every Focus mode can be set to enable or disable itself for a specific time duration automatically. You do not have to worry about disabling the Focus using this feature. This could be some alarm to you and a reminder to take a break from whatever you are doing. 

Deleting a Focus mode

If you no longer believe you will use Focus mode on your iPhone, you can delete them. 

  • Open Settings > Focus.
  • Choose the focus that you no longer want on your system.
  • Tap the Delete Focus option at the lower part of the screen.
  • You will see a confirmation prompt, where you must select the Delete Focus option to delete it. 

If you deleted one by mistake, scroll up to find the method to create a new focus again. 

This article has everything you might need to know about the Focus mode on your iPhone or iPad. You can also contact the Apple customer support team for more information. You can check the Apple developer and public beta if you are an iOS developer.

FAQs

What Is Apple’s Focus Status?

When the Focus mode is enabled on the iPhone, messages or calls from anyone trying to contact you will receive a message. This message informs the caller or sender that your iPhone will not display notifications. This message is known as the Focus status.

What Is Focus Status On iPhone?

When you enable Focus mode on your iPhone, you will receive a message from anyone attempting to contact you. This message tells the caller or message sender that your iPhone won’t show them any alerts. The Focus status is the name given to this message.

What Is Focus Status?

When you turn on Focus mode on your iPhone, you’ll get a message from everyone who tries to contact you. This message tells callers and text message senders that your iPhone will not display alerts. The term Focus status refers to this message received by these callers.

What Is Focus Status On iPhone Messages?

When you turn on Focus mode on your iPhone, you’ll get a message from everyone who tries to contact you. This message tells callers and text message senders that your iPhone will not display alerts. The term Focus status refers to this message.