A new app now brings Apple's iOS 7 Control Center feature to Android, allowing users to get a taste of iOS on their own platform.
Apple has been known to borrow features from some of its mobile competitors when adding new features to iOS, but the tables have now turned with iOS 7's Control Center ported to Android.
They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, and Apple has certainly shown this by imitating Android, Windows Phone and webOS when adding new features to iOS over the years. The company introduced its Notification Center feature with the release of iOS 5 in 2011, allowing users to access notifications and information in a centralized place by simply swiping downward from the top of the device's screen. Android users had been using the same feature and the same way of accessing it since the release of Android 2.0 back in 2009, so it's here who inspired whom.
When Apple unveiled iOS 7 it took some inspiration from Windows Phone and webOS. The company revealed a newly-designed flat interface that many consider to be similar to the look and feel of Windows Phone. The company also added a new multitasking feature that is launched by pressing the home button twice to show the user a live card view UI of applications running in the background. Users can close apps simply by flicking them off the screen. Palm introduced the same exact multitasking feature, way of accessing it, and closing open apps with the release of webOS in 2009.
The tables have turned with a new feature in iOS 7 called Control Center, which allows users to swipe up from the bottom of the display for a quick access to common settings and controls. The feature has been ported to Android in a new application called "Control Center." The free application is virtually a carbon copy of Apple's offering in terms of its UI and features. The app can be launched the same way it is in iOS 7 and gives Android users the same quick access to settings like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, rotation lock, brightness and more. Here's a rundown of the current features the app includes, as listed on Google Play:
- Support iPhone iOS 7 UI Style and Assistive Touch feature
- Support same look and touch feeling with iPhone
- Support Wi-Fi on/off
- Support rotation on/off
- Support volume up/down
- Support data connection (2G/3G) on/off
- Support volume silent
- Support Bluetooth and flashlight on/off
- Support English, Chinese language
- Support Airplane Mode, Brightness, Vibration function
- Support quickly open Clock
- Support quickly open Calculator
- Support quickly launch Camera
- Support quickly open GameCenter
- Support above function in lock screen
Android users who would like to add this iOS 7 feature to their device can download Control Center for free from the Google Play Store.
