How to use the iPhone 16 Camera Control

The new Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 lineup opens the Camera app, takes pictures and adjusts camera settings on the fly. It offers a quick shortcut to using one of the most popular and important iPhone features.

Apple baked a lot of controls and interactivity into this innovative button. But while Cupertino’s designers are usually restrained, some people find this new user interface a little fiddly. The physically clicking button also accepts touch input when you swipe your finger along it. And it utilizes pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback as you maneuver through the iPhone’s camera settings.

Learn how to master the iPhone 16’s new Camera Control button in our guide below.

How to use the Camera Control button on iPhone 16

Somewhat surprisingly, Apple did not limit the new Camera Control to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. Both the regular iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus also come with the complicated button. Alongside Apple Intelligence, it’s one of the marquee features of this year’s iPhone lineup.

Table of contents: How to use the Camera Control button on iPhone 16

1. Click to open the camera and take pictures
2. Light-press to control the camera and switch settings
3. Click and hold to lock focus and exposure
4. Change the Camera Control settings
5. Fine-tune the way you use Camera Control even further

Click to open the camera and take pictures

The basics of the Camera Control seem really easy.

Simply click the button, located toward the bottom of the right edge of all iPhone 16 models, to open the Camera app. If your phone is locked, the first click will wake up the screen, and the second click will open the camera. If the screen is already on, a single click will immediately switch to the Camera app. (This can be adjusted in Settings > Display & Brightness > Require Screen On, but I don’t recommend disabling it. I tried it out and discovered my phone kept accidentally opening the camera and recording in my pocket.)

With the camera open, click the Camera Control to take a picture. Click and hold the button to record a quick video — it’ll stop recording when you let go. If you hold down the button but don’t move or say anything, the video will end after just a few seconds.

Light-press to adjust settings

The Camera Control is pressure-sensitive, too. If you apply a little bit of force to the button without clicking it, you’ll bring up a menu that lets you zoom in or out. A quick swipe on the Camera Control will always zoom to the next optical zoom level — 0.5× to 1× to 2× to 5× on the iPhone 16 Pro. Slowly roll your finger to zoom precisely.

Double-light-press the Camera Control to switch between other functions. The options at launch include Exposure, Depth, Zoom (default), Cameras, Styles and Tone. Light-press to select one of the options, then you can double-light-press to go back to the menu.

Whatever setting you leave the Camera Control on will stay there the next time you open the camera. So if you find the menu too fiddly to mess with when out and about, you can set it where you want and leave it there. Since the iPhone’s main touchscreen already offers gestures that control the zoom (pinch-to-zoom and the on-screen buttons) and exposure (tap on the subject, then drag your finger up or down), I recommend setting the Camera Control to something unique like Depth or Styles.

Click and hold to lock focus and exposure

If you’ve updated to iOS 18.2, a new setting lets you hold down the Camera Control to lock the focus and exposure, like a traditional camera.

If you have this setting enabled, holding down the button for a moment without clicking it all the way. You’ll see the yellow square appear in the center of the frame, indicating that focus and exposure are locked. You can move the camera around or adjust objects in the frame, and your iPhone won’t refocus anywhere else or change the brightness of the image. Click and hold the camera control again to remove the lock.

Change the Camera Control settings

In Settings > Accessibility > Camera Control (in the Physical and Motor section) you will find a bunch of settings for how the button works. You can tweak things so they work best for you:

• Disable Light-Press to turn off the half-click gesture.
• Enable Swipe to allow you to swipe your finger on the Camera Control to adjust a setting without doing a light-press first. I recommend turning this setting on. If you have Light-Press disabled but Swipe enabled, you can swipe the Camera Control to adjust the one setting you want without accidentally invoking the menu.
• Change the Light-Press Force setting from Default to Lighter or Firmer. This changes the amount of force needed to bring up the menu. If you set it to Firmer, you need to click harder — but you’ll need to be more precise differentiating between the on-screen menu and the full button click. If you’re not worried about accidental input, set to Lighter. I left mine on Default.
• Set Double Light-Press Speed and Double Click Speed to Slow or Slower if you have a hard time doing double-clicks.

Fine-tune the way you use iPhone 16’s Camera Control even further

For more options, go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control:

• The Clean Preview setting hides the iPhone’s other camera UI while you’re using the Camera Control. If you still want to see the other buttons, turn it off.
• AE/AF Lock enables the click-and-hold gesture to lock autofocus and exposure, as described above, like a traditional camera.
• Set Launch Camera to Double Click if you find yourself activating the Camera Control too easily.
• Finally, you can change which app the Camera Control opens. By default, it opens the iPhone’s stock Camera app. However, it works with other Apple apps as well as third-party apps (assuming their developers updated the app to support the Camera Control). If you use the Magnifier app often for accessibility, this might be a better use for the Camera Control. For any app, the same settings for Clean Preview, Swipe and Light-Press Force will still work, although support in third-party apps may differ.

More new features in iOS 18

Your new iPhone also comes with iOS 18 — check out some of the other great new features:

• Switch up your Home Screen with dark mode icons
• Customize Control Center with the toggles and features you care about
• Learn how to use the all-new Photos app
• Five awesome new features in Messages
• How to use the new Passwords app
• Lock or hide an app with Face ID

And check out our full list of iOS 18 features for even more.