How to Use the New iPhone Control Center in iOS 18

The iPhone Control Center has been totally revamped in iOS 18. You can now move pretty much every control around, add more controls than ever before, and even access multiple pages of controls. My only complaint is that it's still a bit too hard to launch Control Center from the top-right corner of the iPhone's display, but there's a way around that, too. That gripe aside, it's a great time to start customizing your Control Center, and here's how to do it.

How to add controls to the Control Center in iOS 18 Credit: Pranay Parab

Up through iOS 17, you had to go through the Control Center page in your iPhone's Settings app to add or remove controls. Things have changed in a big way in iOS 18, and you can now make a lot of tweaks directly in the Control Center. To get started, open the Control Center by swiping downwards from the top-right corner of the screen and hit the + button in the top-left corner. Alternatively, long press on any empty space in the Control Center, then tap the Add a Control button near the base of your iPhone. You'll now see plenty of options and a search bar up top. Go through these shortcuts and add whatever appeals to you.

Removing controls from the Control Center

To clean up the Control Center in iOS 18, open it (again, by swiping downwards from the top-right corner of the screen) and hold down any empty space until borders appear around the controls that are already in your Center. Now, hit the - button next to any control and it'll be gone. It's as simple as that.

Move controls around to make them easier to access

iOS 18 lets you swap the positions of all the controls in your Control Center. This means that previously immovable controls such as connectivity options, media playback, and rotation lock can now be moved. The best thing is that you don't have to place all controls next to each other. I like to leave large gaps in between controls to make them easier to differentiate.

To do this, open the Control Center in iOS 18 and hold any empty space on the screen. When borders appear on your controls, start dragging any button or widget to any place you like. I've moved connectivity and media options to the bottom of the screen, where they're far easier for me to access.

Reset the Control Center to its default state

With the release of iOS 18.1, Apple is introducing a one-tap method to reset the Control Center to its default state. This is useful in case you've made any tweaks you don't like and wish to return the Control Center to how it used to be. To quickly reset the Control Center, go to Settings > Control Center > Reset Control Center.

Use new controls in iOS 18.1 Credit: Pranay Parab

iOS 18.1 has also introduced some new controls to the Control Center. You now have the ability to separate almost all connectivity controls from the default widget, which shows you all connectivity options grouped together. For instance, you can have separate controls for wifi, VPN, and AirDrop. This makes it easier to get rid of the big connectivity widget and replace it with individual controls for the features you toggle more often. Separately, Apple's Measure app is also available as a control, so if you use it regularly, you can add it to your Control Center. The Vehicle Motion Cues feature also has a control toggle in iOS 18.1, and it's one of my favorites.

Add shortcuts to the Control Center

When you add a new control to the Control Center, you can scroll down to see which apps support additional controls. Apple's Shortcuts app can add pretty much any of your shortcuts to the Control Center, for instance. This makes it easier to use automation routines on my iPhone. To use this feature, add the Shortcut control, tap Choose, and select any of the shortcuts you regularly use.

Use the Control Center as an app launcher

The ability to launch apps is one of my favorite features in the iOS 18 Control Center. Since third-party apps can now add actions to the Control Center as controls, you can use them to directly launch specific features within those apps. For example, you can ask Bear to open a camera note directly-an action that otherwise takes a few taps. As long as an app developer has added support for this feature, you should be able to launch their apps (or certain features of those apps) straight from the Control Center. This is also useful for those who prefer a minimal home screen layout, as you can move those apps to the Control Center instead.

Explore other pages in the Control Center Credit: Pranay Parab

There are now three full pages in iOS 18's Control Center, but don't worry, all of the most useful controls are on the first page. Explore these pages by swiping upwards with the Control Center open.

The second page shows you music playback controls. Instead of swiping vertically, you can also open it by holding the media controls widget in the first Control Center page. You'll need this page to control speakers connected to your iPhone, such as your HomePod.

Swipe upwards once more with Control Center open to see connectivity options. Alternatively, you can see the same options from the first page of the Control Center by holding down the connectivity widget (in the top-left corner by default). These controls let you quickly toggle airplane mode, AirDrop, wifi, cellular data, Bluetooth, hotspot settings, and VPNs.

Your iPhone has a new shut down button Credit: Pranay Parab

The days of a complicated shut down ritual are over. iOS 18's Control Center has a power button in the top-right corner. Just tap this button and slide the power off switch on the screen to turn off your iPhone.

Access the Control Center easily

Most of my Control Center changes involve making it more ergonomic. There's no reason to keep reaching for the top-right of the screen to launch the Control Center when a better option is available. Back Tap is that option. It's not new, but it's worth sharing, since it allows me to tap the back of my iPhone to fire up the Control Center. You can set this up by going to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. I've mapped Triple Tap to launch Control Center, so I can avoid accidental activations, but you can use the Double Tap option, too.