iOS 15: What’s new with notifications

Apple in iOS 15 made a few updates to notifications, improving how they look, the way they are delivered to you, and the control you have over them.

This guide covers all of the changes Apple made to notifications in the iOS and iPadOS 15 updates.

New look for notifications

App notifications now show larger app icons, so it’s easier to see what’s up at a glance. When you receive a text message from someone from an app like Messages, it will include their contact photo to make it easier to identify the person sending you a message.

This feature works with built-in Apple apps and third-party apps through a notification API, so third-party apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, WeChat and others will also be able to show contact photos in notifications.

Summary of notifications

Notification Summary is an activation feature that allows you to control when unimportant app notifications are sent. In the Notifications section of the Settings app, tapping Notifications summary guides you through the initial setup process.

For the notification summary, you can select specific times for notification delivery and decide which app notifications will be relegated to the notification summary. You can choose only a handful of apps or all of your apps.

The apps should be selected one by one, but the iPhone will suggest the apps that send the most notifications. You can configure the notification summary to be delivered multiple times per day.

By default, recaps will be 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., but times can be changed and additional delivery times can be added. The notification summary is also displayed on the iPhone‌ in a dedicated section ahead of time, so you never really miss any of your notifications, even the less important ones.

deactivate the notifications

Apps that send notifications or chat threads can be temporarily disabled, either for the next hour or for the whole day.

If you are part of a particularly active message thread but are not participating in it, your ‌iPhone‌ will send you a notification suggesting that you turn it off so that you are not disturbed.

Urgent notifications

With Notification Summary, urgent notifications are always sent immediately. So if you are waiting for a food delivery, a ride, or receive a fraud alert from your bank, you will know it immediately and not miss it in the notifications summary.

Apple has developed a Time Sensitive Notification API for app developers who need to send notifications as soon as possible. Thus, from this fall, applications will be able to use the Time Sensitive notification function.

Guide comments

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