HeyDockApple’s Focus and HeyDock’s modes sound alike. They solve different halves of the same problem, and they work well together.
What macOS Focus does
A Focus silences notifications, or lets through only the people and apps you choose. You can allow time-sensitive alerts and repeated calls, and Focus filters change how Calendar, Mail, Messages and Safari behave — hiding a work calendar in a personal Focus, for example (Apple: Set up a Focus on Mac).
Focus is about interruptions: what can reach you.
What HeyDock modes do
A HeyDock mode is about what you reach for. Each mode has its own apps, sites and widgets, and the dock changes when you switch:
- The dock shows only the mode’s apps and widgets.
- During HeyDock’s Focus, opening another mode’s app or site shows the Stay-or-switch gate.
- Messages from other modes’ apps can wait in the notification pen and arrive as one digest.
- Leaving a mode saves its apps, files and pages for Where was I.
Side by side
| macOS Focus | HeyDock modes | |
|---|---|---|
| Filters notifications | Yes, by person and app | Holds other modes’ messages, then a digest |
| Changes the Dock | No | Yes, per mode |
| Asks before you drift | No | Yes, during Focus |
| Restores your work | No | Yes |
| Price | Built in | Paid app |
Using both
They don’t conflict. A common setup: a macOS Focus for deep work that silences everything but family, and HeyDock’s Writing or Building mode to keep the dock and the browser on task. HeyDock is our app; macOS Focus is free and worth setting up either way.