Control Center on iOS 18 Rumored to Feature Upgraded Music Widget and HomeKit Improvements

In a social media post last week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iOS 18 will include "updates" to Control Center, and he has now outlined a few specific changes.

iOS 18 Control Center Feature Iridescent 1
In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter on Sunday, Gurman said Control Center will feature an upgraded music widget and improved controls for HomeKit smart home accessories. However, he did not provide any further details about these changes, so all we know for now is these will apparently be two focus areas for Apple.

Apple will unveil iOS 18 during its WWDC keynote on June 10, and the first beta should be made available to members of the Apple Developer Program immediately following the presentation. The update should be widely released in September.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
ipad air windows 11 arm

M2 iPad Air Runs Windows 11 ARM via Emulation, Thanks to EU Rules

Tuesday April 22, 2025 5:01 am PDT by
A developer has demonstrated Windows 11 ARM running on an M2 iPad Air using emulation, which has become much easier since the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations came into effect. As spotted by Windows Latest, NTDev shared an instance of the emulation on social media and posted a video on YouTube (embedded below) demonstrating it in action. The achievement relies on new EU regulatory...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday April 17, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...

Top Rated Comments

CarAnalogy Avatar
12 months ago
Shouldn't be hard to improve on what is now kind of a baffling interface.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
12 months ago
A whole year for updated widgets?
I hope this isn't dramatised as big news; you're gonna love it, etc, as this is minimal effort for something so minor.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
12 months ago
HomeKit playback controls are long overdue for an update. As it currently stands, you have to root around to click the little button that enables you to control what’s playing on your HomePods. Not a great experience. Hopefully they just consolidate everything onto one screen.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Radeon85 Avatar
12 months ago
The control center is a mess of a UI and has been for years so anything will be a big improvement. The Homekit part of the control center is extremely annoying when my most used icons may disappear and barley used ones show up, and somehow I have no ability to control what homekit icons are shown on that UI.

It's a very poorly designed and cluttered mess of UI.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rustygh Avatar
12 months ago
? Here's an idea, how about make access to the control center something usable, so it's actually a thing?

I'm saying I like it, it's just a super PITA to get there with pull down from top right?
There has to be a better way?

Give us at least accessibility triple click, add 'open control center' to accessibility shortcuts?

Look, I'm not asking, I'm letting you know, that is why control center is such a nothing burger, it's a PITA!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ignatius345 Avatar
12 months ago

I have a library in Apple Music but don't subscribe, so can care less. And, I prefer actual switches in my house so don't care about HomeKit either ...
Cool, thanks for weighing in!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)