The Control Center, currently accessed on the Apple Watch by pressing the side button, is a useful collection of toggles and simple functions such as the flashlight, water lock, Walkie-Talkie, and iPhone ping. Better still, you can customize the features that appear in Control Center… provided you pick from the small list that Apple itself dictates.
As of the launch of watchOS 26, however, it appears that you’ll have a far wider range of options to choose from. watchOS 26, the major Apple Watch software update expected to be announced at WWDC on June 9 and launch to the public in the fall, will reportedly see Apple open up Control Center to third-party widgets and functions.
Citing an anonymous “reliable source,” the tech site 9to5Mac claims that watchOS 26 “will allow developers to plug their own widgets directly into the Control Center.” This could enable popular apps like Spotify, Strava, Calm, or Todoist to create easily accessible one-tap functions and toggles.
Furthermore, 9to5Mac claims the Control Center itself will become more customizable after WWDC 2025. As well as having more widgets to choose from, you’ll have more control over the layout through the Watch app on iPhone. (Currently you have to edit the Control Center on the Apple Watch, a very limited process.)
watchOS 26 is one of several major software updates expected to be announced at WWDC 2025 on June 9, alongside iOS, macOS and iPadOS. It follows watchOS 11 last year, and may yet be called watchOS 12, but experts currently believe Apple is planning to rebrand all of its platforms to reflect the year rather than the version number.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.