According to all the leaks so far, iOS 18 is going to be a huge upgrade for Apple’s smartphone operating system, including an AI upgrade for Siri, an AI App Store, improved customization for the home screen, and – according to the latest leak – possibly improved customization for the Control Center too.
MacRumors claims that “multiple sources familiar with the matter” have said that Apple has tested a redesigned Control Center, which lets you more easily customize the layout. Though the site adds a note of caution, saying that “we have not confirmed if this change has been finalized for the update.”
Still, if this change is included, it will reportedly allow you to use a drag-and-drop system to directly reorganize at least some of the controls. That sounds a lot like how the iPhone home screen can be reorganized.
A slicker system
This would mark a big change from the current system, which requires you to go into the main settings screen to reorganize Control Center, and from there you can only add, remove, and reorder the smaller controls at the bottom, such as the flashlight and timer.
You can additionally choose to hide or show smart home controls, but the entire top half of Control Center isn’t customizable at all.
Now, it’s not clear whether this change would mean you have control over the layout of all the icons, or still mostly just the small ones at the bottom, but even in the latter case, a drag-and-drop system that you can use directly from Control Center would be a lot faster and more intuitive than having to dig into a sub-menu to change the layout.
So this is a change that we’re hoping to see, and ideally it will also include the ability to leave blank spaces, rows, and columns between the various Control Center controls if desired. This ability is rumored to be coming to the home screen, so it would make sense for Apple to apply it consistently across the device.
We should find out soon, as iOS 18 is expected to be unveiled on June 10, at WWDC 2024. The first beta will probably land around then too, but we’re unlikely to see the finished release before September, around the same time as the iPhone 16 line launches.
