How is Personal Focus different from no DnD mode at all?

At the launch of iOS 15, a number of headline features were left out. Univeral control, which would allow one to use the same keyboard and mouse to control their Mac and iPad, still hasn’t made its way to users — though it is expected to do so next month — and aspects like Shareplay were late to the party as well.

What users did get on launch, however, was focus modes. These are advanced versions of Do Not Disturb that allow the user to set up different notification settings, home screens, and so on with the tap of a button. Combined with the Shortcuts app, one can completely change their phone’s settings and look through these focus modes.

While some modes, like Work or Driving, offered evident use cases, users could make their own modes, such as focus modes for reading, nights out, and so on. One aspect of the feature that seemed undercooked was Personal Focus. In practical terms, this seemed like extra steps simply to get the same setup one might have when no focus mode is activated. So, what’s it good for?

The best use case, one could argue, is that this is a great way to disconnect. We are constantly bombarded with notifications from all manner of apps, be it iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, or our banking apps. Notification summaries show that most users get as many as 300 notifications in a day. In a constantly connected world, overload is quite common.

Personal Focus is a way to set your phone for a break. You can turn off notifications from all but your favorite contacts, hide away all your apps in the library, and have your home screen present only the apps you might use for personal time, such as Books, a news app, the camera, and so on. It’s a quick way to give yourself a break from the internet without changing the settings on each app or completely cutting yourself off from all forms of contact for days on end.