Usage
iOS and iPadOS
Control Center gives iOS and iPadOS users quick access to commonly used controls and apps. By swiping up from any screen–including the Lock screen (if the control center is set to be accessed from the lock screen)–users can do such things as switch on Airplane mode, turn Wi-Fi on or off, adjust the display brightness, text size, and other similar basic functions of the device.34
Since iOS 7, it has also included an integrated flashlight function to operate the reverse camera's flash LED as a flashlight.34 The flashlight feature is only available on iPhone and iPod Touch, and iPad Pro. Beginning with iOS 9.3, a Night Shift toggle became available through the Control Center on all iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad models that have an Apple A7 chip or later.
Other functions are offered, such as the ability to turn Bluetooth and Do Not Disturb on or off; lock the screen's orientation; play, pause, or skip a song, see what is playing; connect to AirPlay-enabled devices; and quickly access the clock, calculator, and camera apps.34 Users also have access to AirDrop, previously only available on Macs and newly added to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch models using the Lightning connector in iOS 7, as a method of transferring files between Apple devices.345
macOS
Introduced with macOS 11 Big Sur in 2020, Control Center on macOS gives users quick access to many system-level settings such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and Airdrop, as well as display brightness and system volume. The Control Center icon is on the right side of the menu bar.6
visionOS
Apple's spatial computing platform launched with Control Center, providing access to similar settings as iOS, as well as visionOS-specific features such as guest user access, Mac virtual display, and travel mode.
History
iOS/iPadOS
In iOS 7, Control Center was introduced. It featured a single-paged slide up panel with a blurred background, which provided a layer of translucency over the content below.
In iOS 7.1, the sliders for the brightness toggle and sound toggle were made to be able to be flicked, while a bouncing animation was added and text to show what app is causing the media controls to play was added.7
In iOS 8, the break lines around the square toggles were replaced by transparent squares, while the circular toggles were made to turn fully white when pressed instead and their outlines (which previously did so) were removed.8
In iOS 9, San Francisco, a new system font, replaced Helvetica Neue as the typeface.910
In iOS 9.3, a new Night Shift toggle was introduced. It is available on all iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad models that have an Apple A7 chip or later.
In iOS 10, Control Center was redesigned. The toggles are now mostly colorized, and box squared. The AirPlay and AirDrop toggles have switched locations, and are relocated to make way for the bigger night shift toggle. Two new pages are also introduced, the first consists of the media controls formerly located on the main page, and the second adds toggles for controlling HomeKit enabled devices linked in the Home application. On the iPad, it is redesigned as a single menu with less options, with the toggles instead being bigger.
Control Center received a redesign in iOS 11. As in iOS 9, it features a single page, with the media controls having returned to and HomeKit controls being moved to the main page, in addition, users can now (or long press on devices without 3D Touch) most of the toggles for additional options, and vertical sliders allow users to adjust volume and brightness. The toggles themselves either appear on small black backgrounds or no longer appear as part of a background at all, with the actual home screen itself being blurred instead. The menu is now made to require pulling down from the top of the upper right corner on iPhones, and pressing the home button at least twice on iPads, the latter sharing the screen with the multitasker. Many new toggles are introduced. Unlike prior versions, Control Center is customizable via the Settings app, and allows for a wider range of settings features to be shown, including cellular service, Low Power Mode, and a shortcut to the app. The way the Wi-Fi and cellular functions work was tweaked to now automatically turn on 24 hours after the iPhone was disconnected.
Reception
Control Center has received generally positive reviews. In contrast for the user having to access the Settings application to change most preferences, Darrell Etherington of TechCrunch thought that "separating [Control Center] from that function and making it accessible throughout the iOS user interface via a simple swipe up from bottom is a really big improvement."27
The iOS 11 update was criticized for changing the way the buttons for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work; more specifically, the toggles would disconnect devices from Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, while leaving the radios on. The Electronic Frontier Foundation stated that this change not only hurt battery life, but was also bad for security, describing the buttons as turning Wi-Fi and Bluetooth "off-ish" (greyed out, but not crossed out, as it would appear if switched off directly from the Settings app), as well as further criticizing the connections resuming at 5:00 am every day.28
