Everyone will definitely be a little confused when they first get started with iOS 18! Especially the major revision of the Control Center and the classic Widget function that was cut off in the “-1” page. So after getting started with the iOS 18 Control Center, we took the “Mijia” App as an example to provide additional insights on how to add back the shortcut control buttons and the Control Center. This article provides some tips for getting started. Continue reading the article on how to get started with iOS 18’s new Control Center.
How to get started with iOS 18’s new control center: Mijia can also quickly control it. If you’re not used to it, just change it back to the single-page interface!
Although most people’s focus on the Apple ecosystem at WWDC 2024 was on the Apple Intelligence artificial intelligence interface experience. However, after actually testing the public beta version of this iOS 18 update, we think there are still many good details worth sharing and teaching.
Among them, I personally think that everyone will be a little confused when they first get started with iOS 18. It is the major revision of the Control Center and the classic Widget function that was cut off in the “-1” page – because the old widgets have many shortcut operation buttons, they are suddenly unusable (because they are gone).
So after getting started with the iOS 18 Control Center, we took the “Mijia” App as an example to provide additional insights on how to add back the shortcut control buttons and the Control Center. This article provides some tips for getting started.
In terms of basic operations, Apple has basically simplified the settings of the iOS Control Center to just one switch this time – only to confirm whether the Control Center can be turned on when using other apps. Basically all functional arrangements are opened through the slide-in gesture in the upper right corner of the iPhone screen.
As you can see from the above demonstration, this time the control center has multiple preset pages that can be used.
In addition to opening the control center, you can use sliding gestures to switch up and down between different pages. You can also quickly switch between different pages by sliding continuously like the video above.
In addition to sliding, you can also directly click the page icon on the right to switch.
Long press on the blank space of the button in the new version of the Control Center of iOS 18 to enter the state of arranging control buttons (buttons will appear in a “jittering” state like iOS desktop items); at the bottom there is “Add Control Item” for you to add new buttons – there are many little surprises in it, such as “Personal Hotspot” can be directly turned into a shortcut button in the Control Center for you to activate.
I believe that some third-party apps will gradually add support for control center functions in the future, just like widgets.
Specific control items can also be freely resized as shown above – one page of the default screen is the fully expanded state of the Music App.
Want to change back to the original single page state? OK!
That is to say, I believe someone will raise their hands and ask questions after seeing this, wondering whether this interface can be modified – at least this is the case for the author. After all, connection-related functions such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth will also display a full page mode when clicked through a 4 x 4 grid. At this time, you will feel that it is simpler and easier to operate than returning to the original single-page mode?
Regarding this part, the answer is “No problem!” You just need to simply delete all the items on the other pages through the “-” minus sign in the upper right corner. The entire control center interface will be like the iOS desktop interface, eliminating the blank page.
The advantage of deleting it to only one page is that you can also use the “swipe up” gesture to close the control center page in a blank position as before – I don’t know if you have the same problem as me when you first came into contact with this interface. But when I really want to close the control center, I find myself still sliding around on the page (very annoying to QQ).
(PS: If it is more than one page, in addition to closing the control center through the “swipe up” gesture on the system control bar at the bottom. You can also close the control center by single-clicking on the blank space outside the control item button)
The “switches” of old iOS gadgets can also be added back in the Control Center!
If you are like me, you upgraded to iOS 18 only to find that the traditional widget functions that you commonly used before have been cut off. All I can say is that although some widgets that display status may not be able to be resurrected immediately (it also depends on whether the developer is willing to develop a new version of the widget that is equally easy to use). But at least with the help of the “Siri Shortcut” function, we can add the switch button function in the previous gadget back to the control center.
Here, I will simply use the “Mijia” App as an example to teach you how to set convenient IoT switches such as turning on and off lights as Siri shortcuts, allowing you to directly add them to the control center for quick access.
If you have never added Mijia’s smart thing networking function, you can click “Smart” on the function tab and add a new smart function through the “+” in the upper right corner:
You can set the name of the operation item. The setting functions of this part will vary depending on the device you are using.
Basically what I use most is to control the lights on and off. If you want to link more complex setting tutorials, you can refer toOur past teachings。
After you already have smart functions that can be quickly launched in the Mijia App, you can click “Add to Siri” in the interface to make related settings for deeper linkage with iOS:
After clicking it, you will come to the “Siri Shortcuts” page. It will list the Mijia smart commands that have and have not yet added the Siri shortcut function. If you want to add a specific command, just click the “Add to Siri” button at the back:
Next, the interface for recording keywords will appear – Tip: You don’t have to “record sound” here, you can also click on the text box behind “Hey Siri,” to enter text. After all, the control center is mainly based on button operations. If you also want to use it with voice, it is recommended to choose a name that is easy to pronounce and remember:
Then you can add it to the control center through the steps we introduced in the previous paragraphs:
Finally, if you feel that the buttons in the control center are all the same and it is difficult to distinguish between items. In addition to adjusting the size of the Control Center items so that they display text, you can also consider setting icons for each item in the Shortcut App:
Just go to the respective shortcut and select “…” for more information, and click on the icon at the top to bring up the menu. Here you can select “Select Image” to set it – as shown below, you can set the desired icon or even color in addition to the application icon.
Conclusion
While iOS 18’s Control Center presets look a little intimidating at first glance – they feel complicated. However, through our teaching, I believe everyone knows that it is not a big problem to return to the single-page interface that you are used to, and you can continue to use familiar gesture operations.
However, after actual use, I quite like the benefit of being able to categorize related applications into pages. Basically, I will gather all the system operation buttons together, and then divide the IoT-related functions into another page. With gestures that allow you to slide in and out quickly, you can quickly find the page you want to use.
Leveraging directly into the new Control Center can take advantage of a wider range of operation types. The only problem is probably that its arrangement seems to be a bit “personal”. For people who must put specific functions in the most convenient position, they may need to spend a little more effort to “push” other button items – I believe you will understand what I am talking about after you start using it (laughs).
Further reading:
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Source: KOCPC Chinese