The upcoming iOS 18 promises to be one of Apple’s most significant updates, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence capabilities, but it will not neglect small details, redesigns, and changes in the interface of our iPhones. According to Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, one of the main novelties will be a redesign of the iPhone’s Control Center. A redesign will include an update to the music widget and HomeKit controls.
Home and music playback controls are the primary targets
Since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, the Control Center has not undergone major changes. The current interface displays audio controls in a small 2×2 box in the upper right corner of the screen. It is true that we can control playback from other parts of the system, but it is also true that the Control Center is probably where we go most often. And that’s where we will see the changes Apple is preparing for iOS 18.
Perhaps a larger playback section? Options to connect other headphones or speakers more conveniently? We will have to wait until next week to find out, but it is clear from what Gurman tells us, there’s a world of possibilities.
A world of possibilities if we add that Gurman also talks about a redesign of the Home app section. Currently, iOS automatically selects six accessories to display in the Home section of the Control Center. If we want to access others, we can press and hold the Home button to reveal a reduced version of the application. Again, we do not know the changes that Apple plans to introduce, but the ability to choose which HomeKit accessories and in what order they appear in the Control Center would be really interesting.
If we start from there, and as has often been commented on in the past, the redesign of the Control Center could also include greater customization. We can already choose and place which buttons and functions are at the bottom, but the top section never changes. Will we see a widget system similar to the one that came to the iPhone home screen with iOS 17? Again, we will have to wait, but with Gurman’s statements, we are closer than ever to something like that becoming a reality.
Beyond all the news in the field of AI, details like these show us that Apple will take care of all sections of the system. With a new ‘Now Playing’ music widget and improvements in HomeKit controls, we will have even more convenient and easy access to two services we often use. And if we also see greater customization in the rest of the Control Center, even better. In a week we will find out and enjoy all the news.
