The iPhone's Focus modes are perhaps its most underrated feature. Once customized, they can become incredibly powerful tools that put you in control of how your iPhone can grab your attention. They can take some time to set up, but it’s worth it. Once you've got everything squared away, you'll have timed boundaries from certain apps, people, and even your work, for that mythical work-life balance. Forget having a personal phone and a work phone—a couple of well-tuned Focus modes might be enough.

Diving into Focus modes

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

What used to be Do Not Disturb on iPhone is now Focus mode, which comes with many more options. Open the Control Center and tap the Focus button to see a list of all available Focus modes. The familiar Do Not Disturb option will be up top, but you’ll also see helpful Focus modes premade by Apple, Sleep being a prominent example. If you have a device that supports Apple Intelligence, you’ll also see a mode called Reduce Interruptions, which automatically mutes all notifications except the really important ones. Other premade modes include Personal, Work, and Sleep, which you can all customize to your own liking.

How to set up your own Focus mode

To get the most out of Focus Modes, you should set some Focus modes for yourself. One for work and one for personal time would be a great place to start. Go to Settings > Focus and tap the Plus button at the top. Here, choose the Custom mode option to get the most flexibility. Give it a name, icon, and tap Next. Then, tap Customize Focus.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

This is where you'll do most of your work. First, tap Choose People and select if you want to allow notifications from only a couple of people, or if you want to silence notifications from particular folks. If you’re setting up a Focus mode for personal time, you might want to stop notifications only from your boss and colleagues. Choose the people to allow, and tap Next. Then, choose who is allowed to call you. You can limit it to just your Favorites, or only a handful of people.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Then, tap Choose Apps and follow the same process for apps as well, either allowing notifications from some apps, or only silencing notifications from particular apps. For example, if you’re setting up a Focus mode for personal time, you might want to disable notifications from work apps like Slack, Teams, Gmail, and more. Tap into the Options menu, and you can also choose to show silenced notifications on the Lock Screen, or to dim the lock screen every time that Focus mode is enabled.

Next, take some time to customize what you see when a Focus mode is enabled. Apple will let you choose a distinct Lock screen, Home screen and even an Apple Watch watch face per Focus mode. For example, your work Focus can feature just your calendar and to do list. This will go a long way towards cementing the Focus state in your mind. For example, when I’m in my Writing Focus mode, my home screen is devoid of everything, including my tasks widget and communication apps.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Then, you’ll see a Set a Schedule section. Here, you can turn on a Smart Activation feature that will automatically enable a Focus mode depending on your location, app usage and so on. This has been hit or miss for me, so I would advise you to avoid it for the most reliable results. But you can definitely create a manual schedule using the Add Schedule button. Here, You can trigger a Focus mode to automatically start or stop at a certain time of day.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

You can even use Focus Filters to further customize exactly what apps can show you when you’re in a Focus mode. For example, you can choose to only see your work calendar when you’re in your work Focus, but not your other calendars. These filters work for Apple’s apps and even third-party apps.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Lastly, you can choose to enable the Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing feature that's found at the top of the Focus page. If you have an iPhone with Apple Intelligence enabled, you'll see this setting. It uses on-device intelligence to allow priority notifications to interrupt you even when you're in silent mode. This goes over all other customizations that you might've done. But, being an Apple Intelligence feature, its reliability can be a bit iffy. Based on personal experience, I would recommend you take the time to fully customize the Focus mode to your liking instead of handing some of that work over to Apple Intelligence, as it gets things wrong for me fairly often.

I'm routinely surprised by just how much technology Apple has managed to pack into the iPhone that I can carry in the palm of my hand. What's even more surprising is that underneath the layers, there's even more than what meets the eye. There's a better, faster way to use the keyboard, there's a faster way to select unread emails to archive, there are better ways to browse the web than just the usual Safari experience, and you can get way better photos out of the iPhone Pro cameras than what the stock Camera app shows you.

The iPhone has become such a default product in all our lives that we just take it for granted. Yes, it's a great way to stay in touch with friends and coworkers, to capture moments, and to doomscroll the night away. But spend some more time, and there's a whole new iPhone experience just waiting for you that will truly transform how your iPhone looks and works.

Automate the small, redundant tasks

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Apple installs the Shortcuts app on every device and even offers pre-built shortcut automations that you can install from the Gallery. But the fun starts when you explore the very active Shortcuts community online and start to integrate Automations into the mix.

Apple’s Shortcuts app lets you create automations that automatically follow pre-defined steps. They can be used to resize images, compress files, convert data, and even control aspects of your smartphone. For example, you can create an automation that automatically enables a VPN when you step out of your home, or sends a message to your partner when you leave work. Looking to get started? We have a list of seven automations that I feel every iPhone user should install.

Add custom widgets to your Home Screen

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

I’m a huge fan of custom widgets. Whenever someone picks up my iPhone, the response is usually something like, "Your iPhone doesn’t look like a regular iPhone." That’s down to custom widgets that show the time, day, my appointments, the weather, my tasks, and more. The world of custom iPhone widgets is huge, and if you just want to dip your toes in, I would suggest you start with the Widgetsmith app, which lets you customize multiple widgets with the same theme and fonts. All together, it looks really aesthetically pleasing. When you’re ready, you can dive in with the Widgy app, where you can import and customize thousands of interactive widgets.

Access features quickly using the hidden Back Tap gesture

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

The iPhone has a hidden button, and it’s on the back of your iPhone. It’s an accessibility feature that you can access via Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. You can then assign any app, shortcut, or action to either the Double Tap or Triple Tap gesture. It’s a great way to trigger Shortcuts automations, or to simply bring up the selfie camera. I personally find that the double-tap gesture has a tendency to misfire sometimes, and the triple-tap gesture is a lot more reliable.

Enhance Safari using extensions

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

If you don’t use Safari extensions, you’re sleeping on unrealized potential. Just like on the Mac, the Safari browser on the iPhone also supports extensions. And you can use extensions to do some really cool things, like blocking all ads and trackers (of course), but also to force every website to be in dark mode, all the time. You’ll also find extensions to improve the Reddit browsing experience and to take complete control of all the elements on the websites you use frequently.

Upgrade to a third-party browser

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Using a third-party browser, like Vivaldi, is a very power-user move. All third-party browsers on iOS are technically variations of Safari, as Apple forces developers to build their browsers on Safari's WebKit platform. However, these third-party browsers can include unique features that Safari doesn't. Vivaldi, for example, offers desktop-class tab browsing, including tab groups and pinned tabs. Then there’s Orion, which can run desktop-class extensions from Firefox and Chrome Web Store on your iPhone (something that Safari can’t do). And if you don’t like Safari’s new interface, try out Quiche, which is a completely customizable browser.

Master your Focuses

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Focuses have the potential to transform how your iPhone looks and works, based on your location, time, day, or the task at hand. It’s time to go beyond Do Not Disturb and embrace everything that Apple's Focuses can do.

It would be a good idea for you to set up Focuses for Work, Personal Time, and Sleep. In each Focus, you can decide which apps can send notifications, and which friends or family members can contact you. You can even choose which home screens to show in particular Focus, choosing to hide widgets and apps depending on the Focus (no work stuff at all in Personal Time Focus, for example). Focus also integrates with Shortcuts and Automations, so you can trigger a Focus when you start a video call on your Mac or reach a particular location (like your workplace). Go to Settings > Focus to get started.

Use the hidden swipe gestures everywhere

You’ll be familiar with all the usual iPhone gestures, like swiping up from the Home bar, or tapping the top edge of the iPhone to instantly scroll to the top. But the iPhone has a lot more hidden gestures that can really speed things up. If you see a long list, try to swipe down with two fingers to instantly start selecting items. This works really well in Mail, Phone, and other Apple apps, but is also supported by third-party apps. Next, in iOS 26, Apple added back gesture support that’s arguably better than Android. You can swipe in from anywhere on the left edge to quickly go back.

You can also cut, copy, and paste with a three-finger gesture. To copy something, pinch it with three fingers. To cut, do it twice. To paste something, do a three-finger spread gesture (opposite of the pinch).

Get faster with the iPhone keyboard

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

The iPhone keyboard is more than what meets the eye. It has a built-in Slide to Type feature where you can glide your finger over the keys to type words. It works really well, especially when using the phone one-handed. There’s a virtual trackpad built in, too. Just tap and hold the Space bar and move your finger to move the cursor around.

If you find your keyboard too large to type on, you can also enable the one-handed keyboard from the Keyboard Settings button (tap and hold the Globe icon). From here, you can go to Keyboard Settings to enable a multi-lingual keyboard and to try out Text Replacement, where you can create shortcuts for expanding your frequently used text snippets. For example, you can type “adrs” to expand to your full home address.

Scan documents without a third-party app

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

You might not know this, but there’s a really neat document scanner built into the Notes app and the Files app. I prefer to use the Files app for this because I get to save a PDF directly in the folder that I want. Open the Files app, go to any folder, tap the three-dotted Menu icon, and choose the Scan Documents feature. There’s an Auto Shutter feature that’s enabled by default that will automatically scan each new page you put in front of your camera (if you find this annoying, you can disable it as well). Scan as many pages as you want, and tap the Done button. Then, give the document a name. And it’s now stored as a PDF in the folder. You can now send it to where it needs to go, or back it up using iCloud Drive.

Upgrade your photos and videos on iPhone Pro

Credit: Blackmagic

The cameras on the iPhone Pro are truly stellar. But the Camera app is not. The default Camera app does too much computational photography for my taste, and has trouble focusing on elements exactly when I need to capture something small. Plus, the Pro cameras can shoot in Log in ProRes, and to fully take control of the visuals from your iPhone, you’ll need to step out of the Camera app.

For shooting video in the best light, Blackmagic is a great choice. Here, you get full manual control over both photos and videos, with film-grade presets (including the ability to create your own custom ones).

If that feels a bit too Pro, try using a third-party app to capture much better photos. My colleague Pranay has highlighted a couple of great options, with Halide Mark II topping the list (I agree, as well). Halide gives you a lot more control over the look of your photos. There’s also a Process Zero feature that removes all of Apple’s computational processes from the photos.

Apple’s various apps and utilities are finally starting to talk to each other, and it’s great news for iPhone users. Last year, Apple added the ability to sync Reminders with Calendar, which added time-based reminders directly into your Calendar view—a feature I now regularly use. Now, with iOS 26.2, Apple is finally integrating Reminders with the Alarms app; you'll be able to set an accompanying alarm for any reminder.

If, like me, you tend to be forgetful—if you need a reminder for your reminder—this will be a handy feature. The alarm will sound, taking up your entire screen until you dismiss it. And yes, you can snooze it.

How to add an alarm to any reminder on your iPhone

To get started, open the Reminder app, navigate to a task list, and either create a new reminder, or edit it. When you’re adding a date and time, you’ll see a new Urgent toggle. When you enable the Urgent mode, it will turn on an alarm that will go off when the reminder is due. The alarm will trigger even when your iPhone is in silent mode or in a Do Not Disturb Focus mode, so be careful when setting it up.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

When you enable this for the first time, you’ll get a connection request for integrating Reminders with Alarms. Here, tap Allow. If you don’t see this popup, or if you’ve dismissed it before, go to Settings > Apps > Reminders, and in the "Allow Reminders to Access" section, enable the Alarms toggle.

When the reminder is due, you’ll see a full-screen reminder interface, with the reminder up top, and an option to slide to stop (using Apple’s new sliding interface for dismissing alarms, which you can disable if you want). You’ll also see a big blue Snooze button. This will snooze the reminder for nine minutes.

Whether you hit the Snooze button or you use the slider to stop the alarm, Apple will add the Reminder to the top of the notifications list, as a Live Activity. You’ll see the reminder, with the snooze duration (if enabled), and the task. To actually complete the task, you’ll have to check it off from the Live Activity or the Reminders app.

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Unlike in the new alarm feature, there’s no way to edit the Snooze duration for reminders, or to disable the slider. If you don’t like the Snooze feature or the two-tap approach to completing reminders, you can switch it out for a Complete button instead. Go to Settings > Apps > Reminders and in the "Urgent Reminders" section, enable the Complete from Alarm feature. Now, when the alarm goes off, you’ll see two buttons instead: Slide to Stop and Complete. When you tap Complete, the alarm will disappear, and the task will be marked as Complete.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

It's Cyber Monday, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before the sales are over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Apple’s new MacBook Pro with the M5 chip is a stunningly good computer. If I hadn’t bought my M4 Pro MacBook Pro last year, this is what I would probably get right now. The M5 chip is a substantial upgrade over the M4, especially in the AI department. And for Cyber Monday, Amazon is discounting the already fresh M5 MacBook Pro down to $1,349. That’s down from the sticker price of $1,599, a savings of $250.

Apple M5 MacBook Pro

$1,349.00 at Walmart

$1,599.00 Save $250.00

Get Deal

Get Deal

$1,349.00 at Walmart

$1,599.00 Save $250.00

At that rate, the M5 MacBook Pro becomes attractive for anyone who wants a Mac laptop that is going to last for ages. The M5 MacBook Pro is a sizable upgrade over the MacBook Air, too, thanks to its superior 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display (after using this, going back to my 4K monitor is really tough, I’ll tell you that). This XDR display has Mini-LED backlighting, a ProMotion 120Hz display, and 1,600 nits peak HDR brightness.

The M5, meanwhile, is a new 10-core CPU that Apple says is 15% faster than the M4. The real gains are in graphics and AI. The new 10-core GPU comes with a neural accelerator integrated into each core. This boosts on-device AI workflows by up to 3.5 times. It’s a sizable jump if you’re running third-party on-device AI models as well. Graphics are better by up to 30%, too, with Apple’s third-gen ray tracing tech. Gaming on the Mac might finally be a no-compromise affair (although compatibility is still limited depending on the title).

Along with 16GB RAM, there’s a 512GB SSD and a massive 24-hour battery life. The battery on my M4 Pro MacBook Pro isn’t as great as I’d want it to be. The M5 is more efficient, lasts longer and runs cooler as well. You can also use it for intense workflows like photo editing and video editing, and it can handle sustained thermal loads thanks to its built-in fan cooling. There’s also a nice 12MP Center Stage webcam up top, and a six-speaker sound system with Spacial audio. The speakers are genuinely amazing. When my wife and I watch something in bed, we no longer need to connect to Bluetooth speakers (like we do when using my wife’s MacBook Air).

If you’re looking for something cheaper, or lighter, take a look at the M4 MacBook Air, which is deeply discounted to just $738 for Cyber Monday, another staggering deal.

Does Apple do Cyber Monday?

Yes, Apple participates in Cyber Monday, though you may want to compare their sales with other retailers like Best Buy and Walmart. Apple is offering an exclusive $250 gift card for eligible purchases, but so far, the best Cyber Monday sale on an Apple product is the M4 MacBook on sale for cheaper than ever.

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, the distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

How long do Cyber Monday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. Expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025.

It's Cyber Monday, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before the sales are over. 

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

For years, the M1 MacBook Air has been the default cheap MacBook recommendation every deals season. Even now, it’s available for just $549 at Walmart. But now, I think the best cheap MacBook that you can buy is the 13-inch M2 MacBook Air for just $599 during Best Buy’s Cyber Monday sale. This laptop has the same modern design as the M4 MacBook Air and even comes with the same 16GB RAM.

This isn't the only good MacBook Air deal right now, though—if you have the money to spare, you could opt for the latest M4 MacBook Air for $738 duringAmazon’s Cyber Monday sale. For most budget-conscious users, though, the $600 M2 MacBook Air is the best deal. The M2 MacBook Air has the same 13.5-inch Retina Display (with wide P3 color gamut and sharp resolution at 2560x1664), the same latest design, MagSafe connection, fast Touch ID, and nicer speakers, not to mention 16GB RAM, which is twice as much as the M1 MacBook Air. It supports Apple Intelligence as well, though that 16GB RAM will come in really handy in day-to-day tasks and will help with longevity as well.

Apple 2022 13" MacBook Air M2, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage - Space Gray (Z15S000CT)

$1,199.99 at Amazon

Get Deal

Get Deal

$1,199.99 at Amazon

The M2 chip is also no slouch. Compared to the M1 chip, you get 18% faster CPU, 35% faster GPU, and 40% faster Neural Engine. It’s more than capable for your daily work, email, and web browsing, and it can even take over some intense photo editing and video editing workflows. There’s 18 hours of battery life (15 when you’re web browsing). Again, that's more than enough to last a full workday, and then some. The M2 MacBook Air is also thin and light, as you’d expect, weighing in at 2.7 pounds (and just 1.13 cm thick).

If you’re looking for a larger laptop, the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air is down to $769.99. The two laptops are virtually the same, down to the processor and quality of screen. The 15-inch model, of course, has a larger screen, and because of the extra space, has better speakers too. The weight is a different story though, with the 15-inch model weighing in at 1.51 kg, which is quite a bit heavier than the 13-inch MacBook Air.

What stores have the best sales on Cyber Monday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Cyber Monday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers that can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog. 

Are Cyber Monday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Cyber Monday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

Are Cyber Monday deals better than Black Friday?

Black Friday used to be bigger for major retailers and more expensive tech and appliances, while Cyber Monday was for cheaper tech and gave smaller businesses a chance to compete online. Nowadays, though, the distinction is almost meaningless. Every major retailer will offer sales on both days, and the smart move is to know what you want, use price trackers or refer to guides like our live blog that use price trackers for you, and don’t stress over finding the perfect timing.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

It's Cyber Monday, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before the sales are over.

• Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find.

• Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more.

• Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox.

• Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices and inventory are always subject to change. 

Even after the release of the Pixel 10 series, the budget-oriented Pixel 9a is still the best Google phone for most people. That's according to Lifehacker's Associate Tech Editor Michelle Ehrhardt . And I agree. I’ve used the Pixel 9a as my secondary phone for months now. For Cyber Monday, Amazon is discounting the Pixel 9a to just $349. That’s $150 off the original price, and it’s the lowest price we’ve seen yet.

The Pixel 9a is a great phone for most people because of all the things that it has, and all that it doesn’t. It only has two cameras, and it doesn't have the Pixel 10’s fancy new AI features. But all that doesn’t matter, and you may actually prefer your phone without them.

Google Pixel 9a

$499.00 at Google Store

Get Deal

Get Deal

$499.00 at Google Store

Instead, what you have here is a solid little dependable smartphone. It’s still got the same Tensor G4 processor as the regular Pixel 9, and you still get a 120Hz refresh rate display with the latest Android 16 OS. This thing is still as fast and smooth as the day it was launched. There’s 8GB RAM, which is enough to run some Gemini tasks locally, and fast enough for day to day use. At 5,100 mAh, it has quite a large battery backup as well. Not to mention Google's new 7-year software update promise, which also applies to the 9a.

Because it uses smaller and older sensors, the camera is admittedly just okay. Don’t expect Pixel Pro level photos here. But for regular, everyday use, the camera will be more than adequate.

The Pixel 9a has everything that a regular user would want from a smartphone, and could be a perfect gift for your parents or grandparents this holiday season. As Michelle puts it in her review, “But outside of being a good A-series phone, I also think it’s just a plain good phone.“

How long do Cyber Monday deals really last?

Black Friday sales officially begin Friday, November 28, 2025, and run throughout “Cyber Week,” the five-day period that runs from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, December 1, 2025. But Black Friday and Cyber Monday dates have expanded as retailers compete for customers. Expect sales to wind down by December 3, 2025. 

Are Cyber Monday deals worth it?

In short, yes, Cyber Monday still offers discounts that can be rare throughout the rest of the year. If there’s something you want to buy, or you’re shopping for gifts, it’s a good time to look for discounts on what you need, especially tech sales, home improvement supplies, and fitness tech. Of course, if you need to save money, the best way to save is to not buy anything. 

What stores have the best sales on Cyber Monday?

Nowadays, both large retailers and small businesses compete for Cyber Monday shoppers, so you can expect practically every store to run sales through Monday, December 1, 2025. The “best” sales depend on your needs, but in general, the biggest discounts tend to come from larger retailers that can afford lower prices: think places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot. You can find all the best sales from major retailers on our live blog.