Focus modes are one of the features added to iOS that I got really excited when I first saw. I spent the time leading up to the release of iOS 15 thinking of all the ways I would use. Despite actually setting up a few that I should be using, there’s only three that I use fairly regularly: Work, Driving, and Sleep. Of the three of these, it’s the Driving focus that I think could use some tweaks.
Here’s the thing: I get the purpose of the Driving focus: stay focused on the road, not on your phone. But I was initially quite bummed when I first set up this focus to find out that it didn’t have any custom home screens associated with it. Like I said, I get that the purpose of this focus is to keep you from being distracted by your phone while driving. One of the features exclusive to this focus mode is a prompt you have to tap that says “I’m Not Driving” before you can even unlock your phone. But I still think that Driving focus could benefit from some custom home screens.
Hear me out.
I have Driving focus set to activate automatically, as soon as my phone connects to the FM/Bluetooth transmitter I keep in my car to listen to music. It turns on as soon as I start the car and my phone connects immediately. This is where the home screens come in. Prior to the release of iOS 15, I imagined that Driving focus would have the same custom Home Screen support as the other focus modes, allowing me to drop some apps and widgets that would be useful pre-trip. For example:
- Marvis Pro, my Apple Music app of choice
- an Overcast widget for quick access to my podcasts
- the Maps widget for easy access to directions
- GasBuddy, to check gas prices before I hit the road
The list goes on and on, but the point remains that these are things it would be incredibly useful to have, if only in the moments before I pull my car out of the driveway. Sometimes, my pre-trip can be as quick as throwing on a podcast, while other times it can take me a minute or two to get everything settled. Once the car is on the road and moving, by all means make unlocking my phone one step harder, but it would still be really nice if I had a place to the apps and widgets I most want to use in the moments before I get on the road.
Dan Stransky 