iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1 have introduced a new Focus Mode called Reduce Interruptions, which allows you to use Apple Intelligence to decrease distractions without disabling notifications entirely. This has been a lifesaver for my workflow, since it lets me focus on writing but still shows me any urgent updates I might need to see right away. If you have an Apple Intelligence capable device, like an iPhone 15 Pro or above, here's how to set up this focus mode to your liking.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > Focus > Reduce Interruptions to get started. Scroll down to set up a schedule or a trigger for this Focus Mode. I prefer to enable it automatically during my working hours on weekdays, but you can set it up however you wish. (Alternatively, you can turn it on manually from the Focus Mode control in the Control Center.)
If you're on your Mac, you'll find this menu under System Settings > Focus > Reduce Interruptions.
Reduce Interruptions automatically enables Apple Intelligence's Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing feature (I don't even have the option to turn it off here), which is what Apple's AI uses to decide which notifications are important and which ones aren't. It's a nifty way to get pinged less, but as with all things AI, success isn't guaranteed.
That's why you can also take a few minutes to configure this Focus Mode manually, to help the AI out a little bit. Go to Settings > Focus > Reduce Interruptions and select Options. You can now control which notifications you'll see when this Focus Mode is enabled, which will supersede the AI. I've enabled everything on this page, and set it up to silence notifications when my iPhone is locked. This way, all notification badges are hidden, alerts are sent to the lock screen, and the lock screen is dimmed, too. You can also go back one page and choose how your home screen and lock screen should look when Reduce Interruptions is enabled.
Once this is done, we're at the final stage: deciding which apps and people are allowed to send alerts. Use this to ensure you always see messages from a certain app or person while this mode is active. Select People to configure which of your contacts can reach out when Reduce Interruptions is on. Then, go to the Apps tab and select the apps you want to allow notifications from when you're in this focus mode. To keep things simple, I've set it up to let time-sensitive notifications through, but nothing else. My iPhone does a pretty good job of deciding which notifications are time-sensitive, and that's good enough for me. That's all the setup you need. You may have to tweak a few options in this Focus Mode once in a while, but this should be good enough to get you started.
It's worth noting that other focus modes also now have the Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing toggle, but you'll need to turn it on to use it with them—it shouldn't be enabled automatically like with the Reduce Interruptions mode. Keeping it restricted to Reduce Interruptions is a good way to be able to toggle AI notification filtering on and off on the fly.
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