For me, the main novelty of iOS 15 are modes of concentration. On paper we are talking about one more functionality of the system that seeks to help us avoid distractions, but its use implies changing all our behavior when using our devices.
Their use is completely optional, but if you dare to use them you can get to improve (and a lot) your usage habits with day-to-day applications. We are going to see how to learn to do our own modes of concentration so that nothing escapes us.
Concentration modes for everything you want
The idea of concentration modes is very simple, and it is precisely what I predicted in 2016 when I was trying to get the most out of Do Not Disturb mode. That mode changes, letting us establish something like “scenes” in which we can choose which applications and contacts can interrupt us. If we are working, we mute the notifications and contacts of our friends. If we are in our free time, we mute notifications from work applications. If we are sleeping, we silence everything except key contacts such as our partner or some family members.
We can set our modes of concentration on Settings > Concentration modes, section that replaces Do Not Disturb in iOS 14 and earlier versions of the system:
There are some pre-set concentration modes for you to adjust to your liking, but always you can add additional modes using the ‘+’ button that you can see in the screenshot above. There are them for exercising, driving or even reading and playing, although you can always put your own with the ‘Custom’ option where you will choose a color and even an emoji to distinguish it from the rest of the modes:
From here, you enter the general settings of the concentration mode to select which people and which applications we want to be notified. Here is an example of the mode of concentration Job with my iPhone:
In the upper screenshot you can see how I have chosen some applications and people (my colleagues Eduardo Archanco and Pedro Aznar) so that they can interrupt me. The rest of the applications are silenced, regardless of whether I have allowed them to issue notifications in the general settings for this purpose. Here you have to bear in mind that when the system lets you choose people, it refers to their calls and iMessages, it does not count communications from other applications such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Skype.
The option Starting screen It allows select which pages of the main screen of the system you want to be displayed. In this way the main screen can change completely when I am working, hiding what distracts me.
There is no creation limit concentration modes, so think about those times when you need different notifications and configure those modes to suit you. Now it’s too early to check, but I think this can help many people avoid distractions caused by WhatsApp groups and social media.
Image | Nubelson Fernandes