A button being added to the iPhone 16 Pro models is designed to act like the shutter button on DSLR cameras, according to information leaking out of Apple. That includes doing much more than simply taking pictures when pushed.
After years of keeping the iPhone buttons to a minimum, the number continues to expand.
iPhone 16 Pro getting a dedicated hardware camera button
iPhones already give users plenty of options for controlling their increasingly sophisticated cameras. In 2023, Apple added the Action button to the iPhone 15 Pro models. Users can configure it to open the Camera app and then act as the shutter button (among many other options). And any iPhone’s volume up/down buttons already can snap a picture. Plus there’s a camera button on the iOS Lock Screen.
But apparently, Apple thinks we need more. The company reportedly plans to add a new iPhone 16 Pro camera button with unique capabilities.
“There will be a new camera control on the right side of the phone (at least on the new Pros),” reports Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman in this week’s Power On newsletter. “It will operate like a button on a DSLR camera, allowing you to press in slightly to trigger autofocus. A harder press will take the picture. You can also swipe along the button to zoom in and out while shooting photos and videos.”
It sounds like the new iPhone 16 Pro camera button definitely will come to the pro models. Whether it will appear in the two cheaper options from the upcoming series remains questionable.
iPhone cameras matter
The camera stands out as a critical feature of the iPhone. The increasing photographic prowess of smartphones nearly wiped out the simple point-and-shoot camera, and they continue to make huge inroads into the market for sophisticated DSLR cameras.
And the iPhone camera just keeps getting better. The iPhone 15 Pro Max came with a 5x tetraprism camera for the first time. The same advanced component supposedly will trickle down to the regular iPhone 16 Pro this year.
Beyond the iPhone 16 Pro camera button, read Cult of Mac‘s guide on what to else expect from the iPhone 16 lineup for additional leaks on all four of Apple’s flagship handsets almost certain to launch next month.
