David Nield is a freelance contributor at Popular Science, producing how to guides and explainers for the DIY section on everything from improving your smartphone photos to boosting the security of your laptop. He doesn’t get much spare time, but when he does he spends it watching obscure movies and taking long walks in the countryside.
Setting smartphone screen time boundaries can be a struggle. But there are an increasing number of apps and tools to help—including the Focus mode feature that comes built right into iOS. The idea is you set up different iPhone Focus modes for different scenarios: one for the office, one for driving, and one for home maybe. Each mode sets down certain rules about how notifications are handled, and how many distractions are allowed through.
There's a Smart Activation feature too, where your iPhone will try to intelligently turn on the mode automatically when it's needed, based on 'signals like your location, app usage and more'. Each mode comes with its own settings attached. Screenshot: Apple Finally, use Add Filter to have other actions taken on your iPhone when a certain mode is enabled.