iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will introduce “new levels of customization and capability to Control Center, helping you access many of the things you do every day even faster,” said Apple software chief Craig Federighi during Monday’s WWDC24 keynote.
The revamped Control Center features multiple groups and offers easy access to media playback controls, smart home devices and more.
Apple opens iPhone and iPad Control Center to third-party apps
The current Control Center in iOS 17/iPadOS 17 provides quick toggles to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and apps like Camera, Flashlight, and Calculator. The revamped iOS 18/iPadOS 18 Control Center features multiple new groups of controls for media playback and Home controls. You can access them with a continuous swipe down from the top-right edge.
A new Controls gallery will allow you to add new toggles to the Control Center. Even better, “developers can include controls from their apps as well,” said Federigihi. This includes controls for actions like starting your car, turning the thermostat on/off, etc. iOS and iPadOS introduces a new Control API for developers to take advantage of for this.
You can customize the buttons in the Control Center and place them anywhere you want.
iOS 18 lets you customize the Lock Screen shortcuts
You can access the revamped Control Center and its toggles from the Lock Screen in iOS 18. More importantly, you can replace the flashlight and camera buttons on the Lock Screen with other controls. On the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, you can map the Action button to trigger a specific control.
The new customizable Control Center and other associated improvements are also coming to iPadOS 18.
Combined with the new iPhone Home Screen customization options, iOS 18 brings new personalization options like never before.
