Apple plans to significantly expand the customization capabilities of the Control Center in the iOS 18 operating system, which will be unveiled on Monday at the WWDC event. The main innovation is the ability to place controls on several separate pages, not just on one, as it is now.
New Customization Features
According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, the Control Center interface will become more flexible, allowing shortcut buttons to be rearranged and placed on different pages. There will also be an updated music widget and improved smart home control settings. Back in iOS 10, Control Center had several pages, but they couldn’t be customized. In iOS 18, users will be given much more freedom in organizing this section.
In the current iOS 17, users can partially customize the Control Center by adding or removing some elements, but the location of basic elements, such as the music player or mode switches, remains fixed. In the 18th version, it will be possible to change the location, add, and remove buttons directly from the Center interface without needing to go into the settings every time. The key feature is creating your own pages with the necessary controls, similar to organizing the home screen through widgets in iOS. For example, on the first page, users can collect all the elements related to multimedia, like a music player, volume controls, and controls for connected speakers. On another page, they can place the “Do Not Disturb” or “Focus” mode switches. This approach should make the Control Center more intuitive and easy to use.
Design Updates and Developer Integration
In addition to expanded organization capabilities, iOS 18 is also expected to update the design of the controls themselves. In particular, the music player and device controls on the home network should become more informative and functional. It’s unclear at this time whether third-party developers will also be able to offer their own widgets for Control Center. However, given Apple’s general course towards expanding the customization capabilities of iOS, such a step looks like a logical continuation of the improvements announced in iOS 18, notes NIX Solutions. At the upcoming WWDC 2024, we’ll get answers to these questions. We’ll keep you updated with all the latest information.