Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2024 is only a few days away, and it’s positively going to be a giant one. There’s been quite a lot of discuss Apple finally adding some AI smarts in iOS 18 and macOS 15 — however AI received’t be the one new factor coming.
A brand new report from MacRumors means that Apple is overhauling the Control Center with a brand new design and extra customization choices in iOS 18. This isn’t the primary time that we heard this rumor. However, it appears that evidently a number of sources who’re accustomed to the matter, in response to MacRumors, declare that Apple has examined a redesigned model of Control Center for iOS 18.
It’s not confirmed if it’ll be a part of the replace subsequent week, however regardless, it’s about time Apple gave the Control Center some TLC.
The downside with Control Center in 2024
In 2013, with iOS 7, Apple added a brand new function referred to as Control Center. With only a swipe on the display screen, whether or not on the house display screen or inside an app, you possibly can convey up a panel with a number of buttons. These buttons have been controls and toggles for generally used settings like Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, rotation lock, brightness and quantity ranges, and extra.
For over a decade, the Control Center has largely remained unchanged. It’s certainly one of my most used options, as I convey it up dozens of occasions a day. I typically use it to toggle Wi-Fi and Bluetooth after I’m experiencing some hiccups, brighten or dim the display screen, activate Low Power Mode, flip off Dark Mode for a fast second, and some extra issues.
However, one of many extra annoying issues about Control Center is that it’s so fundamental in comparison with Android’s Quick Settings panel. With Android, you’re in a position to customise the Quick Settings toggles straight from the panel itself. From right here, you possibly can select what exhibits up by dragging and dropping, rearrange the order to no matter you need it to be, and extra. If you need to have a toggle for every little thing, you possibly can with pages throughout the panel.
Right now, with iOS 17 you possibly can’t customise Control Center straight. Instead, it’s important to go to the Settings app, scroll down for Control Center, after which you possibly can customise it.
But it’s not even full customization both — you solely get to decide on what seems within the backside half of Control Center. The prime half, which has connectivity controls, rotation lock, silent toggle (for iPhone 15 Pro fashions), Focus, Now Playing, brightness, and quantity sliders can’t be modified.
It’s lengthy overdue for large modifications
According to MacRumors’ report, the iOS 18 modifications to Control Center will embrace the flexibility to rearrange controls with a drag-and-drop gesture. It’s not clear if this alteration would permit customers to switch the controls that may’t be modified, however this would definitely apply to the elective ones on the very least.
I’d like to see Apple permit us to rearrange our Control Center shortcuts with a easy drag-and-drop gesture. Android already does this, and it simply makes essentially the most sense. Even if that is the one large change for Control Center, it might be greater than welcome.
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It was all the time a bit idiotic that you possibly can by no means customise the Control Center straight, as every little thing must be executed by way of the Settings app. The identical factor may be mentioned for altering settings in varied apps, too, that are buried within the Settings app as a substitute of the app itself, however that’s a complete different can of worms.
Though the report solely talks a couple of new technique to customise your controls by way of drag-and-drop, there are different modifications that Apple might make to enhance the general consumer expertise. For one, I think we need 5G toggles at this level (typically I would like to change to LTE due to connectivity points), and should you’re a HomeKit consumer, then consistency could be a welcome change as a substitute of simply advised controls. There’s no assure that these requests will present up subsequent weeokay, so let’s simply hold our fingers crossed.
I’m additionally curious what the attainable “redesign” will appear like. There were whispers that iOS 18 could have some visionOS-inspired changes, which I’d personally wish to see, however nothing has been set in stone but.
Thankfully, we don’t have to attend for much longer now. WWDC 2024 kicks off on Monday, June 10. And, hopefully, it’ll convey us the Control Center modifications I’ve waited years for.