How to Set Up and Use the Notification Summary on Your iPhone and iPad

iOS 15 introduces a Notification Summary to help you limit distracting notifications. Here's how to set it up and optimize it on your iPhone or iPad.

Notification Summary is a new way to check your iPhone notifications without getting distracted by them throughout the day. Using this feature couldn't be easier, and all you need to do is change a few iOS 15 settings on your iPhone or iPad to use it.

Here's everything you need to know.

What Is Notification Summary?

Notification Summary is a new feature added to iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. This feature lets you bundle your notifications into one summary that appears at certain times during the day. You can customize the time of day you want to receive a summary, and you can even see your summary ahead of its schedule if you want to.

Related: Which iPhone and iPad Models Will Work With iOS 15 and iPadOS 15?

It's important to note that the notifications that go into the summary are considered non-urgent. Phone calls, direct messages, and time-sensitive notifications will notify you immediately, and they won't be part of your summary.

After you've set up a Notification Summary, you'll receive a bundle of non-urgent notifications at the scheduled times you set up. All your notifications will be summarized in a bigger, more convenient notification box.

How to Set Up Notification Summary on iPhone and iPad

The notification summary may be already active on your iPhone or iPad when you install the software update. However, if you want to set it up for yourself, or you want to know if it's enabled, here's what you need to do:

1. On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings.
2. Select Notifications.
3. Tap Scheduled Summary.
4. Enable Schedule Summary.
5. Choose the apps you want to add to your summary. Your iPhone or iPad will suggest some of the apps that send you the most notifications. You can tap Show More to see all your apps. Don't worry, you can add or remove apps from the summary later.
6. After you selected all the apps you want going to your summaries, tap Add Apps.
7. If you want, choose the times you want to receive your notification summary. You can also change this later.

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And you're set. The notification summary is now up and running, and it will appear at the times you scheduled. If you're looking to tweak your Notification Schedule settings even further, take a look at the tips below.

Related: These 3 Features in iOS 15 Are Exclusive to the iPhone 12

How to Change the Notification Summary Schedules

By default, your Apple device will set two schedules for your notification summaries: one at 8AM and another at 6PM. Fortunately, you can change them and even add your own schedules. Here's how:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Notifications.
3. Tap Scheduled Summary.
4. Under Schedule, tap the time of any schedule to change it to whatever time you want.
5. If you want to add a new summary, tap Add Summary and tap the time to choose when you want to receive the summary.

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You can schedule up to 12 summaries throughout the day and edit them to choose when you want to receive them.

Related: Top iPadOS 15 Features Announced at WWDC21

How to View Your Next Notification Summary Before the Scheduled Time

If you have some free time, or just want to check your notifications before the scheduled time, you can set it up so your iPhone or iPad shows you your next notification summary ahead of schedule. Here's what you need to do:

1. Head over to Settings.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Select Scheduled Summary.
4. Enable Show Next Summary.

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Your next summary will now appear on the Lock Screen. You can also reveal it by swiping up on the Lock Screen when there are no other notifications to view.

How to Add or Remove Apps from the Notification Summary

You don't have to have all your apps bundled together. The Notification Summary is designed to make it so you don't get distracted by constant notifications during your day. So if you want to get instant notifications for your favorite app or game, you can just remove it from the summary, making it show up outside the Notification Summary again.

Here's how to choose exactly which apps go into the Notification Summary on iOS 15:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select Notifications.
3. Tap Scheduled Summary.
4. Scroll down and enable or disable the apps you want in or out of the Notification Summary.

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Finally, Some Inner Peace

With the notification summary, you won't have to worry about constant notifications during the day. You'll only get notified of the important and time-sensitive notifications, so that you can leave the rest for when you don't mind getting distracted by social media or video games.

The best part of Notification Summary is that this is just the beginning. There are still many exciting new features that iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 have to offer.

About The Author

Sergio Velasquez (52 Articles Published)

Sergio is a writer, a clumsy gamer, and an overall tech enthusiast. He's been writing tech, video games, and personal development for almost a decade, and he isn't going to stop any time soon. When he's not writing, you'll find him stressing out because he knows he should be writing.

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