A newly published Apple patent application describes a system for deciding, in real time, whether to interrupt what someone is doing on a device or leave them alone. The application was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on February 5, 2026 and published on August 6, 2026, as spotted by patent tracking site Patentlyze.

The patent describes how a device observes activity, checks rules for interruptions, and decides whether to show a prompt. A second part covers turning recent activity into a short summary. Apple already ships similar features in iOS 18.1: AI-powered notification summaries and a Reduce Interruptions Focus mode.

Reduce Interruptions currently judges each notification individually without considering ongoing activity. The patent could add that layer, checking how long someone has been on a call or how many times they reopened an app. Notification summaries could benefit by building a digest from broader activity, avoiding the inaccuracies that drew criticism in December 2024.

As with all Apple patent filings, there is no guarantee this system will ship. However, it maps onto existing features and could sharpen Reduce Interruptions and notification summaries.