The Control Center on your iPhone or iPad is a handy built-in function that offers direct access to critical settings for your device from the same place, in the same way, and from any app at any time — swiping down from the top-right corner on newer devices or from the bottom of older devices. With iOS 14, as with iOS 13 and iPadOS, it serves as a shortcut to a set of device functions you want to immediately access without having to hunt for the right app. You can instantly turn Bluetooth on or off, get a song to play, or tap and drag to change the screen brightness or audio volume. With the new iOS, Apple has added some new features to the Control Center and also speeds up customization features.
The process of invoking the Control Center in iOS 14 is identical to previous versions and depends on which model of phone you own. With an iPhone X or later, you still swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen or tap the screen to close. On an iPhone SE (2020), iPhone 8 or earlier, or iPod Touch, you swipe up from the bottom of the screen, and to close, tap the top of the screen or press the Home button. Here’s how to customize it in the new version. This differs from iOS 13 in that it removes a step you had needed to customize the controls.
You still have to cope with the Control Center items that Apple considers essential — networking, music, portrait orientation lock, do not disturb, screen mirroring, and volume controls — and you still can’t adjust their size or position. Although additional settings in the Control Center remain the same with the updated OS, the way you access them has changed slightly. Now, you can tap and hold on any of the controls to reveal more related options.
For example, if you tap on the Do Not Disturb control, it reveals additional scheduling controls you can set. Tapping on the main networking set reveals AirDrop and Personal Hotspot. Tap on AirDrop and you get more options. Not all items have deep controls, so tap and hold your favorites to see if additional controls emerge.
With iOS 14, Apple has added Home options to the Control Center. These can be used to operate HomeKit devices such as HomeKit lights or other accessories without your needing to launch the Home app.
In the Control Center you first have to enable the Show Home Controls toggle for those controls to appear in the Control Center. Then start with a Home Favorites button and choose up to six small buttons for control over various HomeKit devices. You can view your device status, or tap the Favorites button to check all the devices you set as Favorites in the Home app. To change the favorites you want to view in the Control Center, you must first designate them from the Home app.
The Control Center has some default items like the ability to control your music, go into Airplane mode, Do Not Disturb, and adjust volume and screen brightness. In addition, there are a number of customizable items. For example, you can turn the Flashlight on, change the font size, launch the Camera or Calculator app, start a Stopwatch, and more.
There are also plenty of apps you can add to the Control Center. To do that, go to Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls, where at the top, you will see the default functions and also items you can add to the list, including Do Not Disturb While Driving, the Home app, Low Power Mode, Magnifier, Notes, or QR Code Reader. You can even access your Wallet if it’s enabled. Some iPads may have variations of the Control Center widget list, and skip Flashlight, Wallet, Calculator, and Voice Memos.
To access Control Center from your lock screen, first, make sure it is enabled by going to Settings > Touch or Face ID and Passcode > Control Center. You must type in your passcode and switch on the Control Center toggle.
The following steps apply to all iPad models and all iPhone models without a Home button.
Customizing the Control Center is how you can personalize these quick-access controls anywhere in iOS. This feature is available on iPhone and iPad and it works the same on both devices. You will need iOS 11 or later to customize Control Center. Why bother? Customizing the Control Center lets you quickly change settings for the functions you use most often. Want to record an announcement or a set of instructions? Add the Voice Memos control. Want to dim the lights in the kids’ room? Add Home controls. Here’s how to customize the Control Center.
You can choose to access the Control Center exclusively from the home page, or from any app you’re working in. To do that go to Settings > Control Center > Access Within Apps and toggle the control on or off.
You can add or remove apps from the Control Center using the existing buttons, but some of them have more functionality. Notes serves to launch that app, giving you the choice of a new note, checklist, photo, or to scan a document. You can add Low Power Mode, the Magnifier, and more. Adding Text Size means that you can drag on the right up and down to make text bigger or smaller. With Flashlight, you get a variety of different flashlight levels and with the Timer, you tap it and then launch right to the Clock app. For the Calculator, you can copy the last result or tap to jump into the app. For the Camera, tap and hold and go straight to a particular mode — selfie, video, slo-mo — rather than just a quick tap to launch the camera.
The Control Center appears relatively similar on the iPad. To access it, you can swipe down from the upper-right hand corner of any screen, and it should pull down. In this Control Center, expect the buttons and features to work the same way, just with a slightly different layout. Every control in the Control Center has a specific purpose. You can toggle certain buttons on and off, and if you hold down certain modules, they expand or present additional options.
For example, if you were to hold the icons for Airplane Mode, AirDrop, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular, or Personal Hotspot, several detailed options would appear on your screen. If you’re operating a device with iOS 13 and iOS 13.1, you’ll find a list of additional features for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, including nearby wireless networks and available Bluetooth devices.
Currently, the Control Center is essentially out of your control. The widgets provided in the center are built-in by Apple, and they are not removable. Even if you aren’t using a feature, like the Screen Mirroring button, you won’t be able to delete it from the Control Center. Examples of some of the other immovable widgets include Brightness, Screen Orientation Rotate Lock, Volume, Cellular, AirDrop, Bluetooth, networking, and Wi-Fi. We will point out; there are a few controls that are specific to certain devices. Personal Hotspot and Cellular controls are only accessible on iPhones and iPads with Cellular data.
Affinity’s new all-in-one creative app is finally coming to the iPad, nearly a year after Canva launched the redesigned desktop version for Mac and Windows. Creatives have been asking for the iPad release ever since, especially because files created in the new Affinity app cannot be opened in the older V2 iPad apps.
Affinity already has Photo, Designer, and Publisher apps on iPad, but the new release combines those tools into the same unified app that Canva launched on desktop last year.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Apple has just launched its latest iPad mini with a notable set of upgrades, including an OLED screen, improved speakers, and a more resilient build. It also gets a new chip, and the whole package costs $200 more than its predecessor. But if you look closely at Apple’s online store, you’ll realize that $699 isn’t enough to get you the most powerful version of the A20 Pro chip inside this tablet. In fact, even if you pay $800 for the 256GB model, you still won’t get the beefiest variant. Only when you jump to the 512GB trim, which costs an absurd $999, do you get the most powerful flavor of the A20 Pro.
The $999 model gets more than extra storage