How to Set Up iOS 26 Priority Notifications
By Taha Baalla··5 min read
iOS 26 Priority Notifications summarizes and ranks notifications using Apple Intelligence (on-device AI). Enable it: Settings > Notifications > Notification Summary. Requires iPhone 15 Pro or later with iOS 26.
How Priority Notifications Work in iOS 26
Apple Intelligence reads notification content on-device and determines which are time-sensitive or require action. High-priority notifications appear at the top of the lock screen with a summary. Less urgent notifications are grouped into a summary that appears at a set time (default: morning and evening).
No notification content is sent to any server — processing happens on the Neural Engine. This is architecturally different from Google’s notification summary feature which uses cloud processing.
Setup Steps
- Settings > Notifications > Notification Summary.
- Toggle on "Scheduled Summary."
- Add apps to the summary (apps NOT in summary always show immediately; apps IN summary are batched).
- Choose delivery time (default: morning and evening).
- For immediate priority: Settings > Notifications > [App] > enable "Time Sensitive" for apps that should always appear immediately.
Notifications Relevant to Note Apps
Nemos: no push notifications by default. Used offline-first with local reminders via Apple Reminders integration if set up.
Otter.ai: sends notifications for completed meeting transcripts. Can be in summary batch without missing transcripts (they are delivered after the meeting anyway).
Notion: sends notifications for comments, mentions, and reminders. Time-sensitive mentions could be set to immediate delivery.
For Focus Mode Users
Priority Notifications integrates with Focus modes. In Work Focus, you can allow only Time Sensitive notifications while batching all others. In Personal Focus, allow personal app notifications while batching work apps.
Limitation
Priority Notifications requires iPhone 15 Pro+ on iOS 26. Older devices get iOS 26 but not this feature. iPad and Mac receive notifications as before.
Frequently asked
Is this updated for iOS 18 and iOS 26?↓
Yes, tested in 2026 on iPhone running both iOS 18+ and iOS 26. Where steps differ between versions, both paths are listed.
Does this require a paid app?↓
No — the native iOS path described first is free. Paid recommendations only appear when free options have a meaningful gap.