watchOS 5 Beta Adds 'Edit' Button to Control Center for Adjusting Icon Layout

Tuesday June 5, 2018 7:12 AM PDT by Tim Hardwick
Testers of the new watchOS 5 Beta that Apple released yesterday have discovered a new function that allows Apple Watch users to change the arrangement of icons in the Control Center menu, which is accessed by swiping up on a watch face.

As shown in this image shared by Reddit user brooksdbrewer, the option appears as an Edit button when you scroll down to the bottom of the Control Center menu. Tapping the button then allows you to drag the icons around into a new arrangement – placing the icons you most often use up to the top of the menu, for instance.

So for example, if you use Theater Mode frequently, you could locate the associated icon next to the battery percentage icon at the top, and move the Ping iPhone icon to the bottom of the menu to prevent accidental taps. Likewise, you could drop the Expel Water icon right to the bottom of the screen if you never use it.

Whether or not the Control Center's new Edit function makes it to the final public release of watchOS 5, due in the fall, remains to be seen. However, there are plenty of other features to look forward to, including Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Automatic Workout Detection and new Workout types, a new Walkie-Talkie app, and more.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4, watchOS 5
Tag: watchOS 5
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
21 comments


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macduke
11 weeks ago

Hopefully this feature makes it to the final public release, it'd be nice to be able to rearrange those icons.

Why wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure they mentioned this on stage as well either in passing or on one of those screens that lists a bunch of new features.
Rating: 5 Votes
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itsGrant
11 weeks ago
Hopefully this feature makes it to the final public release, it'd be nice to be able to rearrange those icons.
Rating: 2 Votes
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iDento
11 weeks ago
I was hoping for an Audio Memos app for Apple Watch now that we have that app for macOS and it syncs with iCloud.
Rating: 1 Votes
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midkay
11 weeks ago
This was actually mentioned at the keynote. Definitely an intended, here-to-stay new feature.
Rating: 1 Votes
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macduke
11 weeks ago

I agree, it doesn't seem like something that would cause issues and need to be removed. However, one would also think that just storing messages on a server and syncing them to your phone/macbook would be relatively easy for them and, well, we saw what happened with that :rolleyes:

Are you referring to the Messages app? Apple actually doesn't retain copies of messages on their servers once it goes to your device. So it then has to do ad-hoc syncing of messages between devices. They did this so various government agencies couldn't come in and force them to decrypt everything. The problem is that this doesn't work very well, but it's better for consumer privacy and they're working on improving it. It's anything but "simple" and I wouldn't have it any other way because Apple cares about privacy and security way more than other companies—even at the risk of putting out a product that occasionally has sync glitches and errors. For me, their priorities are in the right place and that's why I continue to support them.
Rating: 1 Votes
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MrGimper
11 weeks ago

Why wouldn't it? I'm pretty sure they mentioned this on stage as well either in passing or on one of those screens that lists a bunch of new features.


C'mon, you're not new here, but such a post implies some naivety with respect to betas and features going missing later down the line....
Rating: 1 Votes
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walnuts
11 weeks ago
That would be great. I always hated that (once theatre mode pushed it down) when you were putting your watch into water mode, sometimes your hands were already wet and adding the need to scroll through the control center with wet hands was frustrating.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Relentless Power
11 weeks ago

Yes! It's the little things in life...


Agreed. As much as it’s not an inconvenience to scroll down, it’s nice to have whatever I use the most at the top.
Rating: 1 Votes
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SimonLee31
11 weeks ago
I was totally underwhelmed by the update. Walkie Talkie for gods sake.

Apple Watch has stagnated. It’s a shame.
Rating: 1 Votes
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coumerelli
11 weeks ago
This alone will make watchOS worth the upgrade lol
Rating: 1 Votes
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