From Engadget · Christine Persaud · · 1m 30s
Focus mode gets smarter in iOS 27
Apple's Focus feature now offers better customization, automation control, and integration with Shortcuts for more personalized phone management.
In brief
Apple's Focus feature now offers better customization, automation control, and integration with Shortcuts for more personalized phone management. Focus mode can now trigger complex automations with conditional logic, letting you automate actions based on which Focus mode is active. Originally reported by Engadget.
What Focus mode does
Focus lets you control which alerts arrive and when, with preset modes like Work, Personal, and Sleep. You can silence social media notifications while keeping family messages through.
Resize Focus in Control Center
iOS 27 lets you resize the Focus icon in Control Center from a small 1x1 circle to a large 2x2 grid. Long-press an empty area to enter edit mode, then drag the corner to adjust.
Build smarter Shortcuts
Shortcuts can now check your current Focus mode and trigger actions accordingly. Create a Shortcut that plays a podcast when Driving mode is active, or opens your workout app in Fitness mode.
Use conditional logic
iOS 27 supports "Otherwise if" statements in Shortcuts, so one action triggers if Sleep Focus is on, but a different action runs if Driving mode is active instead.
Create custom Focus modes
Build your own Focus modes like "Christine" that silences Facebook, Instagram, and Phone but allows Slack and Ring notifications. You can also whitelist specific people like your boss.
Use natural language with Siri
iOS 27 improves Siri AI so you can use natural language commands to create Shortcuts with Focus mode integration built in, making automation setup faster and easier.
What matters most
Focus mode can now trigger complex automations with conditional logic, letting you automate actions based on which Focus mode is active.
