APPLE UNLEASHED: HOW iOS 18 REDEFINES CONTROL CENTER CUSTOMIZATION AND AESTHETICS

In our time, when technological innovation is indistinguishable from magic, Apple will again lead the pack. With the upcoming OS iOS 18, the 2024 iPhone software upgrade marks a giant leap into the future of user interface personalisation. In this loooong piece, we’ll detail how Apple, guided by Android, but forging its own path, iterated towards a user experience both familiar and fantastically new.

THE EVOLUTION OF CONTROL CENTER IN iOS 18

A Fresh Take on Familiar Features

The Control Center in iOS 18 on the surface looks quintessentially Apple: instinctive and smooth. Pulling down from the top-right corner reveals an overlay with familiar sliders for brightness, volume and music controls, and others. In an important departure from previous iOS software, the iPhone 15 Pro Max moves away from the single-pane interface, instead presenting a customisable multi-panel UI that’s as spacious as it is beautiful.

Customization at Its Core

A static 1 x 4 row of icons in Control Center? Oh no, this is iOS 18, a 4 x 8 grid of icons, with the ability to resize, move or delete items, or toggles and widgets: no longer shaped by a rigidly curated vision of Apple Inc, the interface has shifted to one shaped by the user. It’s much more personal than previous interfaces, and back to being more playful in a Sherman-inspired, smooth-animated, perfectly resizing way.

Multipanel Mastery

Nor does the Control Center’s reinvention end with increased customisation. The quick access toggles that users can add can now be spread across two or more panels, which the user can sling-shot through by sliding their thumb. The ability to add and organise toggles endlessly to taste, and the possibility of third-party options, promises that Apple’s Control Center can be as big as the user’s mind.

COMPARING APPLES AND ANDROIDS: A CLOser LOOK AT CONTROL CENTER AND QUICK SETTINGS

Though it’s undeniable that there are some conceptual threads in iOS 18 that can be traced back to Android, Apple’s explicit embrace of multi-pane controls and variable-size toggle buttons moves forward into uncharted territory in terms of mobile OS looks and feel. By swiping vertically rather than horizontally, as in Android, Apple maximises on-screen real estate, enabling one-handed usability in ways that are truly enjoyable.

EAGER FOR iOS 18? HERE'S WHEN YOU CAN DIVE IN

iOS 18 is expected this September with a public release following the unveiling alongside new iPhone models. A public beta of iOS 18 is also on the horizon. Users eager to get their hands on the latest version should just sit tight: beta versions are fun but buggy.

REDEFINING THE AESTHETICS OF CONTROL

In this sense, iOS 18 represents not just a new release but rather a rethinking of what’s possible with smartphone personalisation: Apple has tipped the balance of form and function slightly in the direction of form, and refined Control Center into a tool that’s not just highly functional but also deeply personal. It certainly looks a lot more like a Google product, in some ways, than any previous Apple interface; yet, by subordinating functionality to a clean, sensical and intuitively attractive visual frame, it is all the more quintessentially Apple.

AN APPLE A DAY: A SPOTLIGHT ON APPLE'S INNOVATIONS

I believe the core of Apple’s success lies in innovative thinking: every new software release and every new piece of hardware pushes technological boundaries between style and substance. The iOS 18 update will give users significantly more control over their phones than ever before, without sacrificing the ease of use and seamless performance that Apple is known for.

But with iOS 18, Apple invites us all to dream along with them. Ultimately, that’s what Apple is. A company driven to make its users’ lives as rich as possible with desktop companions who move through the world with us on our shoulders.