The iOS Do Not Disturb feature is like that sign you hang on the hotel door when you want everyone to go away. And, if you don't like to be bothered, it's pretty much the best iPhone feature out there. With the latest iPhone update, there are new Do Not Disturb features in iOS 12 that make this already-boss feature even better. Instead of thinking of Do Not Disturb like a hotel-door sign, think of the upgraded Do Not Disturb like a handler that keeps people away from you when it's very, very important that you're not interrupted. For example, if your phone regularly dings or vibrates in the middle of meetings, Do Not Disturb can prevent that from happening.
"There are times when you don’t want to be disrupted by any alerts, messages, or calls at all," Apple said on its website. "So now you can set Do Not Disturb just for a meeting or while you’re at a location, and it will automatically turn off as soon as your event ends or you leave that place." That's right: When you add something to your calendar, you can also enable Do Not Disturb so you're not the person whose phone is going off during their best friend's wedding ceremony. If you think about it, this new Do Not Disturb feature has the potential to save friendships, relationships, and maybe even your job.
You can also set Do Not Disturb for other pre-determined intervals, like an hour, until you leave a certain location, or until later in the day. You can also now access these options via a 3D touch on the Do Not Disturb icon in the Control Center, where before, if you wanted to set a time interval for Do Not Disturb, you had to manually click into your settings.
What's more, you can now choose how you want to receive your notifications. "To help reduce interruptions, iOS 12 gives users more options for controlling how notifications are delivered," Apple explained in its iOS 12 press release. "They can instantly manage notifications to be delivered quietly or turned off completely. Grouped notifications make it easier to view and manage multiple notifications at once."
In the early days of smartphones, all notifications were exciting. Fast forward a decade and now everyone is feeling over-notified AF, especially when notifications are coming in even while you're asleep. Seriously, there is nothing worse than checking the time on your phone in the middle of the night and seeing an email from your boss. While it's true that you could already enable Do Not Disturb when you go to bed, just because you can't hear those notifications doesn't mean they're not showing up on your screen.
With the new-and-improved Do Not Disturb, you can enable Do Not Disturb during Bedtime, which will ensure your screen is as clear and peaceful as an unpolluted night sky. If you can't fight the FOMO, and you want to see what's up, simply unlock your phone. But, if you don't want a trip to the bathroom to turn into an unwanted work session, you can still check the time without getting over-notification anxiety.
"Do Not Disturb during Bedtime helps people get a better night’s sleep by dimming the display and hiding all notifications on the lock screen until prompted in the morning," Apple explained.
Overall, the new iOS 12 Do Not Disturb features will not only help you tame your tech addiction and save relationships, they might just help you get a better night's sleep too. The bottom line? If Do Not Disturb is your favorite feature, you're going to want to download iOS 12 ASAP so you can make yourself even less available, which is pretty much 2018 #LifeGoals.
