As part of some big improvements coming to Windows 10, Microsoft is stealing the iOS Control Center to give users a quick and easy way of changing display brightness and toggling settings from the desktop.
Unlike Apple’s Control Center, however, Microsoft’s will be customizable.
Introduced with iOS 7, the Control Center provides instant access to useful functions from the Home screen. You can use it to active the LED flashlight, toggle features like Do Not Disturb and Night Shift, and to control display brightness and media playback.
Apple is yet to bring Control Center to the desktop in macOS — though you can get similar functionality from third-party applications — but Microsoft will.
In a screenshot published on its Windows Blog, Microsoft previewed the new Control Center that can be accessed by clicking the “settings cog” in the system tray. It contains many of the toggles already found in Windows 10’s Action Center today, plus some additional features.
The screenshot was later removed by Microsoft, but not before Windows Central was able to grab a copy of it. The site was also able to obtain some more information about the upcoming feature.
“In the screenshot above, you can see that Control Center basically does exactly what it says on the tin, allowing the user to control system actions,” it explains.
“The Control Center is entirely customizable, allowing the user to change what shows up there, with additional options that allow you to reorganize some of the settings to your liking.”
It’s thought Microsoft’s intention is to remove Quick Actions from the Notification Center so that it serves purely as a Notification Center. Some of the default functions of Control Center will be the ability to change display brightness, toggle Wi-Fi, and activate battery saver mode.
Control Center will also provide useful shortcuts to other settings menus for things like networking, as well as the overall Control Panel.
It is believed these changes will come with Windows 10’s Fall Creators Update, but of course, they are not finalized yet. Just like anything Microsoft rolls out to testers, there’s a chance it will change significantly or be scrapped entirely before the update goes public.
