How to Use Your New iPhone 16’s Camera Control Button

The iPhone 16/16 Pro’s new camera control button is almost as polarizing as politics. Some people love it; They think it makes it easier to unlock the iPhone with Face ID and take photos on the fly than launching the camera app. The button provides quick access to Visual Intelligence Latest iOS 18 Update and can serve as an accessibility tool for those who struggle with mobility.

Other people hate the camera control button enough to call it the worst feature Apple has added to the iPhone. That way is harsh, soBut once you start using the camera control buttons for yourself, you’ll understand. The button is on the bottom half of the iPhone, so you have to carefully balance the device with your index finger and thumb when pressing down to take a photo. If you don’t have the mechanism on your wrist, it causes the phone to shake quite a bit—the exact opposite of how you’d want to shake a phone when trying to take a photo. Apple has algorithms that help with some of the shakiness caused by camera controls, but there are still some cognitive inconsistencies. How can I believe that the picture I took was still when I can feel the iPhone shaking while doing it?

If you’re new to the iPhone 16/16 Pro, you’re probably wondering about the usefulness of a button that no one asked for. My job is to guide you after using the product, so that at least you can use something from a function that no one claimed for. As I said, the camera control button is helpful for taking pictures quickly. But it can do more things if the old way of taking photos on iPhone still suits you better than this new thing.

Press to shoot

The camera control button on the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro is a physical button with the DNA of a MacBook trackpad. You press it hard like the power or volume buttons, or press it lightly for a soft press. The button area is capacitive, so you can control the interface by sliding your finger.

Press the camera control button twice to bring up the iPhone viewfinder. you can Press again Snap a photo or long press to start recording a video If you don’t press down at all, by default, you can use the camera control button to zoom in and out between the camera lenses, including the 5x telephoto that Apple included for both sizes. iPhone 16 Pro. You can tap lightly Camera control Button twice to cycle through other settings, including exposure, depth and iPhone 16’s new photographic style.

The soft-press-and-slide process was very confusing at first. It took me a while to figure out what a soft press is with the camera control button and recognize iOS’s interface animations when activated. I have an easier time using the phone’s sliding mechanism if I steady it with the other hand.

If you have updated iOS 18.2Apple lets you control exposure and focus lock with camera control sliders. it is Easy to set up In the Settings app, though, you’ll need to do them before you take a photo

Customize the camera control button

I am an android user Most of the timeAnd my favorite shortcut to access the camera app is to double-tap the power button. To that end, I didn’t think the camera control button needed a double-press before it was activated. But I went for the quick shortcut to launch it after one click. Apple lets you do that settings. under Camera controlTap to choose between single or double click to launch the camera.

The camera control button can also be used as an adjustment or a Accessibility tools For people with accessibility needs. under Settings > Accessibility > Camera ControlsYou can adjust the soft and hard press firmness of the button and even select how forceful the press should be.

You don’t even have to use it

You don’t have to use Camera control button to launch the iPhone’s camera app. If you go back to the iOS settings panel, under Camera Control Settings, you can program it to launch something else, albeit with limited options. You can choose between a built-in QR code scanner, a magnifier to zoom in on tiny real-life text, or a third-party app that implements the new hardware. You can turn off the camera control button entirely if it interferes with the rest of your iPhone experience.