10 Apps That You Can Add to Your Control Center Now
Credit: Jesse Hollington / iDrop News
With iOS 18, Apple introduced a few new things that make the update worth it. These include new features and design changes to older apps, many different customization features, and even a promise of many different Apple Intelligence features to come in the next few months.
However, one feature that has stood out the most since this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the Control Center customization. Now, you can completely change how your Control Center looks and feels. For instance, you can delete as many controls as you want and add individual controls, like a single button to turn on your Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
However, the best new feature is the ability to add controls from third-party apps. That’s right; developers can create controls in their apps that you can add to your Control Center as shortcuts to open those apps or run specific actions in them.
Unfortunately, these controls will depend on third-party developers to be available on your iPhone, so you might need to wait until your favorite apps add a control to the Control Center.
But if you don’t want to wait, many different third-party apps already offer controls you can add to your Control Center. From apps to track your water intake to controls that will help you keep track of your habits in a flash, here are some of the best apps you can add to your Control Center.
If you're not sure how to customize your Control Center yet, the good news is that it's really quick and easy. Check out our guide on How to Use the New Control Center in iOS 18, and once you've got the hang of it, read on for 10 amazing apps to get you started.
Streaks
Streaks is a fantastic app that lets you track and build habits in your life. For instance, you can create a habit of reading daily for at least 10 minutes or working out for 45 minutes. Or, if you want to quit smoking or browsing the web so much, you can also create a habit to help stop doing that.
Streaks will then let you set notifications so you don’t forget about the habit you want to build. And the best part is that the app uses data from other apps to keep track of your habits. For instance, if you have an Apple Watch, you can allow Streaks to access your Apple Health data, so it knows when you worked out even if you don’t manually add it.
For the Control Center, the Streaks app offers controls to let you complete your tasks or start a timer with a single tap.
Water Tracker by WaterMinder
Waterminder is one of those classic apps you probably heard of before, and it’s still pretty useful today. As you can guess by its name, the Waterminder app helps you keep track of your water intake during the day. When you download the app, you’ll have to fill out some information about yourself so you know how much water you should drink in a day.
The app will send you daily reminders so you never forget to hydrate yourself. One of the best parts about the Waterminder app is that you can add it anywhere you want. You can add the Waterminder app as a Home Screen or Lock Screen widget, add it to your Apple Watch, and, of course, add it as a control in the Control Center.
In your Control Center, Waterminder has controls for you to open your history, check a challenge you’re working towards, or log in for a drink or a cup of coffee.
Calory: Calorie Counter Macros
If you're trying to lose weight, the Calory app might be your best tool. This simple but powerful app has everything you need to track your food and water intake, weight, and fasting times.
When you open the app, you'll be asked questions about your height, weight, age, and goal. Then, Calory will suggest how many calories you should eat per day to lose or gain weight.
You can also search for food to keep track of how many calories you consume daily and log your weight to see how much you progress every day and week.
Last but not least, it also comes with a useful intermittent fasting feature that will help you remember and track your fasting times. Depending on how much time you spend fasting, it will also give you some information about what it is doing to your body.
As for the Control Center, Calory offers a bunch of controls. You can scan a barcode to log your weight, food, or water intake.
Water tracker Waterllama
If you're looking for another water tracker that's both cute and useful, then Waterllama might be the right choice for you.
This water-tracking app offers everything you need to track your daily water intake. The app will help you determine how much water you should be drinking and keep you motivated by reminding you to take a sip every now and then.
One of the coolest things about Waterllama is that it comes with challenges to keep you motivated. These challenges are not just related to water. It can be a challenge to stop drinking caffeine or to take more vitamins. All of these will help you complete your daily goals and feel healthier overall.
The controls in the Control Center are a nice plus. They help you log the water you just drank or open the app to see your progress for the day.
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is an app that needs no introduction. It's one of the most popular artificial intelligence chatbots in the world.
Not only can you have casual conversations with it, but you can ask pretty much any type of question and get a solid answer. It also comes with premium features if you're willing to pay for a subscription.
In the Control Center, you can add a couple of controls. One to open ChatGPT's voice assistnat, and anoter to open the regular ChatGPT app.
MacroFactor - Macro Tracker
MacroFactor is another powerful app that will help you lose, maintain, or gain weight. Just like Calory, this app will ask you a couple of questions related to your weight and goals to ensure you're on the right track.
Once you're done, you'll receive a program that shows you how many calories, protein, carbs, and fat you should consume in a day. You can also keep track of your weight and measurements to ensure you're working towards your goal.
The amount of calories and macros you need to consume per day will vary each week. At the end of the week, the MacroFactor app might change your program based on how close or far you are to reaching your goal.
Overall, this app is a bit more complete than Calory, and it might be better for you if you struggle to lose weight.
It also comes with many Control Center shortcuts, but they're all hidden under a single Quick Action control. From there, you can choose to search for food, scan a barcode, log weight, or just open the app.
Todoist: To-Do List & Calendar
When it comes to productivity, you need the right app on your iPhone. Todoist is one of the best ones for the job.
The Todoist app is a productivity app that lets you keep track of all your to-do lists in one place. You can use it to write down what you need to get done, or you can create a big project and break it down into more manageable tasks.
You can also share your to-do lists with other people if you want to work as a team to finish a project.
The best part is that it already comes with a couple of controls you can add to your Control Center. Even though they're pretty basic, they're still useful. For example, you can use a control to add new tasks or to open your list for the day.
LookUp Dictionary: Learn Daily
LookUp Dictionary is a fantastic app for those who learn new words daily. Besides, it is a complete dictionary that you can use to search for any word you want. It also has many different tools to help you learn something new.
For starters, you can use it to discover new words. In case you don't know how to pronounce a word, the app comes with audio to help you learn the right pronunciation.
Look Up Dictionary also lets you translate words in over 20 different languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, German, and so much more. It doesn't matter if you're learning a new language or you're a bilingual person traveling to the US; this app will help you out.
Of course, the LookUp Dictionary app now comes with some useful controls for your Control Center. With them, you can quickly search for a word's meaning or use the scanner to scan any word and find out what it means.
Spark Mail + AI: Email Inbox
Earlier this year, Apple promised some improvements to the Mail app, including adding Apple Intelligence to sort and prioritize messages automatically. However, you don't have to wait for Apple Intelligence; you can use the Spark Mail app now.
Spark Mail is a powerful tool that makes reviewing your mail a little bit easier. The app comes with many ways to organize your mail, and now it has some extra AI capabilities.
For instance, Spark Mail now uses AI to automatically prioritize and organize your mail so your most important messages are always at the top. It comes with other useful features, too, like the ability to create messages with other people or a built-in calendar to keep track of your upcoming events.
As for the Control Center, Spark comes with a few controls that you might find helpful. For instance, you can use it to instantly start writing a new email, check all your attachments, check your calendar, or search for a specific message you want to read.
Peak: Fitness Widgets
Peak is a powerful app that will help you stay on track financially with your goals. Whether you want to lose weight or gain some muscle, you can use Peak to keep track of your workouts, goals, and calories.
Peak offers widgets you can add to your Home Screen or Lock Screen. That means it might not help you create a fitness goal that's completely tailored to your needs, but if you already have one in mind, you can use Peak to keep you motivated.
For instance, Peak will show you your activity rings, the number of steps you've taken today, and a useful calendar to see when you actually beat your fitness goals and when you didn't.
As for the Control Center, Peak has a few valuable controls to help you see more information about your goals. The controls work as a shortcut to let you see your goals and how much you've progressed through the day. You can also log in data like your weight.