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Video: watchOS 8 concept imagines support for complications in Control Center on Apple Watch

A new concept from Matt Bircher today imagines how Apple could overhaul Control Center in watchOS 8. Currently, the Apple Watch Control Center is reserved for quick access to things like WiFi, Do Not Disturb, and Water Mode, but this concept imagines a more versatile design with support for complications.

watchOS currently allows you to add complications to your watch face, but each watch face offers a different level of customization. Some watch faces, such as the Infograph faces, allow you to add quite a few complications, while others, such as Fire and Water, don’t support any complications.

As Matt explains in his video, the idea here is that you could choose a watch face that doesn’t offer complication slots, but still have access to the data provided by complications in the Control Center.

For instance, in Control Center you could have complications for commonly accessed data such as Weather, Activity Rings, and more. These complications could sit directly above the existing Control Center toggles.

This is a really intriguing idea and it solves a big problem facing the Apple Watch today. If you choose a watch face without complication slots, there’s no way to quickly access similar information without going to each individual application. Essentially, you have to choose to have the data directly on your watch face, or not have easy access to it all.

The idea is actually similar to Glances, a feature that was available in the early days of the Apple Watch. It was designed to offer quick access to specific bits of information, but Apple deprecated the feature in watchOS 3.

Check out Matt’s video below and let us know what you think of this idea down in the comments! Do you have any other ideas on your wish list for watchOS 8? Be sure to share those down in the comments as well.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

You can send tips, questions, and typos to chance@9to5mac.com.

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