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 Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Crease-Free iPhone Fold on Track for 2026 Launch as Development Advances

Monday November 24, 2025 10:25 am PST by
Apple is making progress on the development of the book-style foldable iPhone expected in 2026, according to a report from Chinese site UDN. The device has reportedly entered the engineering validation stage, and Apple is gearing up for mass production. Citing supply chain sources, UDN says that Apple has solved "the crease problem" that has plagued most foldable smartphones, and the...

Top Rated Comments

CarAnalogy Avatar
19 months ago
Shouldn't be hard to improve on what is now kind of a baffling interface.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
19 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
19 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
19 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
19 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
19 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)