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Focus Mode On: How Apple TV+’s Severance Inspired Me to Master This Hidden iOS Productivity Feature
I used to ignore the Focus Mode on my iPhone until I watched this Apple TV+ show and had an epiphany…
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This week, I started rewatching the first season of Severance on Apple TV+ to revise the plot before the second season dropped. I loved the first season, but after almost two years, I couldn’t remember the characters and plot so well. When I began watching the show once again, I had an epiphany somewhere near the end of the first episode… wasn’t there a feature like this somewhere on the iPhone? What was it called?
The Focus Modes.
Ah, that’s right! The Focus Mode feature debuted with the iOS 15 update back in the fall of 2021 and was essentially the Do Not Disturb mode but on steroids. You could choose from a list of them ranging from Sleep Mode to Work Mode to Personal Mode to Driving Mode. I remember this being a huge deal during and after the WWDC event, with many YouTubers and writers likewise trying to figure out how to customize these for personal use. To me, even those tutorials felt taxing to watch and read.
DISCLAIMER: The story ahead contains spoilers from…