Did you know you can easily add iPhone controls to your Apple Watch Control Center? This way you have your favorite shortcuts available directly on your wrist, without the need for a separate version of the apps for the Watch.
This smart integration allows you to perform actions on your paired iPhone, all from the convenience of your smart watch. This is especially useful for apps that can adjust system settings, such as enabling a VPN or launching automations.
Apple Watch control panel
The Apple Watch Control Center provides quick access to frequently used settings such as Airplane Mode, Flashlight, Wi-Fi, and Battery Status, and can be accessed by pressing the side button of the watch. You can easily customize and personalize the panel with the steps below.
- Press the side button
- Scroll down
- Tap ‘Edit’
Drag the controls to the desired position. Tap the minus button to delete them and use the plus button to add new shortcuts to the overview.
When customizing Control Center on Apple Watch, suggestions for useful buttons are shown at the top, so you don’t have to scroll through a long list.
Use iPhone controls
Controls you added to Control Center on your paired iPhone can now also appear on your Apple Watch. This offers a lot of new functionality without developers having to create separate watchOS versions. The actions are then performed on the iPhone, but you can easily control them from your watch.
Developer support
For the first time, you can not only use Apple’s own buttons in the Control Center, but also add shortcut buttons from third-party apps. This allows you, for example, to quickly perform actions from your favorite weather, smart home or to-do app directly from your wrist. Developers can use the Control Widgets API to create custom controls that can be added to the Control Panel, Action Button, and Smart Stack.