Apple’s likely to unveil the next iteration of iOS very soon, which means it’s just about time for everyone to get excited about everything new, then lament the features that haven’t been added.

This process is inevitable, so we might as well start the complaining early. As someone who's recently switched from a Nexus 5 to an iPhone SE, there’s one Android-esque bit I particularly want from a potential iOS 10: a customizable Control Center.

For the most part, the Control Center — that little settings menu you swipe up from the bottom of your display — is a good thing. Introduced with iOS 7, it’s made it very easy to access commonly used functions. Three or four button presses become a swipe and a tap. This is something any OS that sells itself on “simplicity” should strive to do.

The problem is one that’s not unfamiliar to iPhone owners: a lack of user control.

As it stands now, the functions you can access are limited to the handful Apple chooses itself. For me, it’s not a stretch to call some of these expendable. I’ll run through the lot of them now to explain what I mean.



Airplane mode : There’s only one instance in which I use Airplane mode, and that’s on actual airplanes. Still, it can be useful if you’re having a battery crisis or you just to go off the grid for a bit, so sure, whatever.

WiFi : The old ball and chain. Essential.

Bluetooth : Wireless headphones, speakers, wearables, and toothbrushes are enough of a thing that it has to be there.

Do Not Disturb : There are certain situations where it’s crucial for certain people. Personally, vibrate is enough, and nobody’s calling at 1AM, so I usually pass.

Orientation lock : If anything, this detracts from the user experience if you watch videos regularly. I’ve read enough articles lying in bed to know it’s annoying when the whole screen flips, but that’s about it.

Flashlight : I guess?

: I guess? Timer : Everyone goes straight to the alarm clock.

Night Shift : It’s surprisingly effective — or at least it feels like it is — but it’s hard to say it needs a spot.

Calculator : It’s good when your restaurant receipt doesn’t have suggested tips on it already, but there are many other day-to-day use cases where people are in a rush to crunch numbers.

Camera : Yes, definitely.

Brightness slider : Auto-brightness and Night Shift make it a bit redundant, but those can be finicky, so it’s fine.

Music playback controls : For sure. Nobody wants to go in and out of Spotify every three minutes.

AirDrop : Not the best if you use a Windows laptop or Android tablet.

AirPlay : I prefer Roku .

The point here isn’t that half the Control Center is useless, but that everyone has their preferences. I try keep my cellular data off when I don’t need it, for instance. I also have friends who use iMessage. When I’m out, I usually wind up going against my inclinations, because I don’t want to go through the hassle of unlocking the phone and repeatedly tapping through settings menus to get a text. This is annoying, and happens too often.

It's a similar deal if you want to use, say, VPN, Personal Hotspot, or Location Services. Giving the option to swap these in, or at least expand the two rows of toggles there now, would seem to be a simple fix. Adding shortcuts to third-party apps would be even better, though that could open up issues in design (since Apple would need developers to make custom icons) and security (since you’d be able to access personal data from the lock screen).

Is something like this more for geeks than “everyday” people? Yeah. Would that make it any less useful? Nope. There are plenty other things for Apple to address with the next iOS — multi-user support, a better Siri, the ability to remove unused default apps — but I know I’ll be happy so long as I don’t have to look at a calculator icon again.