Apple and Google regularly roll out new versions of their smartphone software with fresh and useful features. But between the annual overhauls and the smaller periodic revisions, it can be hard to keep track of the changes.

If you haven’t poked around, here are some tools from the past few updates that can help save you time.

Take Control

In last fall’s iOS 18 update, Apple redesigned its iOS Control Center so it can be customized in granular detail. Just open the Control Center, either by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen (if your phone uses Face ID) or by swiping up from the bottom (if you have a Touch ID model).

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Next, tap the + button in the upper-left corner of the screen. Now you can resize, rearrange or remove icons. Tap Add a Control at the bottom of the screen to select new icons from the gallery. (Some installed controls, like the Clock and the Camera, offer a handy pop-up menu of quick actions when you hold the icon down.)

With iOS 18.4, when you are in editing mode for the Control Center, you can move, remove or delete icons. As shown on the right, when you tap the Add a Control option, a gallery opens up with dozens of controls, including buttons to add the new Ambient Music playlists Apple added in last month’s update.Credit…Apple

In iOS 18 and later, the Control Center contains multiple screens for grouping icons by category, like music or connectivity. For example, you can tap the music note on the right side of the screen to get to your music apps’s playback controls and streaming speakers. And last month’s iOS 18.4 update added icons for instantly streaming ambient music playlists for relaxation or focus.

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