iPhone 16 Introduces Revolutionary Camera Control Button

Everything you can do with the iPhone 16's new Camera Control button

Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro (alongside new Apple Watch and AirPods models) at an action-packed press event yesterday. The company focused heavily on new AI features, but we knew quite a lot about Apple Intelligence already; many company watchers, including this one, were more interested in the iPhone getting a second new button in as many years. As had been rumored ahead of the event, all four new iPhone models for 2024 feature a new capacitive, gesture-sensitive button called Camera Control. This sits in a slight recess low down on the righthand edge, below the power button; hold the device in landscape mode and it lines up conveniently with your right index finger, like the shutter on a camera. It works in portrait mode too. Fairly obviously, given the name, this control is intended for use when taking photos. Here's what it can do. Launch the Camera app: This is fairly obvious, but clicking the button once will open the Camera app. Take a photo: Once the Camera app is open, click the Camera Control button again to take a photo. You have to do a proper click, not a light press because that does something else (as we shall see). Take a video: If you're in video mode, clicking the Camera Control button will start recording. You can also long press in photo mode to instantly start recording video. Zoom in and out: Instead of a click, lightly press the button when in the viewfinder, and a zoom dial will pop out next to your finger. Swipe left and right on the control to zoom in or out. Other camera controls. Okay, this time do a double light tap and a swipeable menu of various camera controls will pop up. You can access zoom, depth effects, exposure, and other options by swiping along the button. Those are the main features Apple lists on the iPhone 16's product page, but Camera Control doesn't stop there. The company also revealed during the keynote that Camera Control will be used for an Apple Intelligence feature called Visual Intelligence. Point your iPhone at an object or place, click and hold Camera Control, and then marvel at relevant AI-powered analysis: if it's a dog, it'll tell you the breed; if it's a restaurant, it'll tell you the hours, etc. But this isn't a launch feature. It will come to Camera Control later this year, Apple says. Likewise, Camera Control can be used to search for things you can see. Point the camera at a bike, for example, and clicking the button will use Google Image Search to find out more about it. You can also search using ChatGPT. As with new hardware controls in the past, Apple is hoping that third-party app makers will come up with inventive ways to use Camera Control. Over the coming months, iPhone 16 and 16 Pro owners are likely to see further uses of the button to quick-access apps and app features in various ways. It remains to be seen whether this will be a hit or a flop, but for now, the potential is appealing.

All-New iPhone 16 Button Adds Camera Control to Apple's Flagship Phone

Apple has revealed all the details of its upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, and among them is a single-click button on the side of the phone for camera control. The announcement came during Apple's annual September device event on Monday morning in Apple Park, California. You can watch all the announcements Apple makes for its new iPhones, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4 live. The camera control button is a new feature coming to the iPhone 16. The indented button sits flush with the surface of the phone, and looks similar to a side fingerprint reader, but launches the camera. You can also use it to access Visual Intelligence features, powered by Apple Silicon. "The camera control provides instant, easy access to the camera with just a click. It allows you to adjust various camera features simply by sliding your finger," Apple said during the event. "Its convenient design ensures it's always within reach." During a demo of the camera control button, Apple showed how one click launches the camera, and then another click takes a photo. Holding the button will record a video, and lightly pressing the button will show you "an all-new clean preview that dissolves all other UI elements, helping you focus on framing the shot." A light press on the button can also bring up an overlay for camera functions. Press lightly twice and you can zoom. Sliding your finger over the camera control button brings up other controls you can adjust, like depth of field. Apps including Snapchat will also let you use the camera control button to snap and share quickly. The button contains a "high-precision force sensor," provides haptic feedback and contains a multi-pixel capacitive sensor and signal processor. The new camera control button on the iPhone 16 also gives you access to Apple's Visual Intelligence features, including using your phone as a kind of mixed-reality handset. For instance, if you see a restaurant while you're out walking, you can hold your phone up, and click and hold the camera control button to bring up info on hours, ratings, menus and reservations. Another example Apple used was if you see a flyer for an event, you can click the button and add the event to your calendar. It'll automatically fill out the event title, time, date and location. "And then there's that cute little puppy you see at the park. What kind of dog is that? Click, and now you know," Apple added. "All of this is done privately using a combination of on-device intelligence and Apple services that never store your images." You can also access third-party apps and tools, like Google search if you see a car or bike you'd like to see the price of, or ChatGPT to ask questions of the artificial intelligence chatbot while out and about.

What is Camera Control? The new camera button on the iPhone 16 explained | Stuff

The iPhone 16 is the best smartphone lineup Apple has ever produced, introducing a host of innovative AI features that aim to simplify our lives, but one of the most exciting additions is Camera Control. This new feature, in the form of a dedicated camera button, merges Apple's thoughtful hardware design with advanced software capabilities to make getting the perfect shot that little bit easier. Here's everything you need to know about Camera Control: On the surface, Camera Control is a dedicated camera button, but dig a little deeper and you'll soon realise there's a lot more going on that makes Camera Control a genuinely innovative addition to the iPhone 16. The new button integrates a tactile switch for a satisfying click, a high-precision force sensor for light press gestures, and a capacitive sensor for touch interactions. This combination allows users to instantly access the camera, take photos, and start video recording with ease. Gone are the days of fumbling to unlock your phone or open the camera app. With Camera Control, you can quickly launch the camera with just a click. It's similar to double-pressing the power button on an Android phone to bypass the lock screen and automatically open the camera app. The Camera Control button's tactile feedback offers a familiar, satisfying feel, while the light press gesture enables users to interact with the camera in new ways. You see, the Camera Control doesn't stop at just snapping pictures. A new camera preview feature helps users frame their shots more effectively. By sliding your finger across the Camera Control button, you can adjust various camera settings, such as zoom, exposure, and depth of field. The Camera Control button is designed to work with third-party apps, such as Snapchat, allowing developers to tap into this new hardware and create unique camera experiences. This opens up exciting possibilities for social media platforms and photography apps to enhance their user interfaces and make content creation even more accessible. Later this year, Camera Control is set to unlock even more powerful features thanks to AI. With just a press and hold, users will be able to quickly access information about objects and places. For example, you could walk past a restaurant, press Camera Control, and instantly pull up its hours, ratings, or reviews. Or maybe scan a flyer to add an event directly to your calendar. AI-driven object recognition will also allow users to identify dog breeds, plants, landmarks, and more. Apple is also opening up Camera Control as a gateway to third-party AI/Search tools. Whether you want to search Google for where to buy an item you've just snapped a picture of, or get quick problem-solving assistance from ChatGPT. All of this begs the question, why didn't Google think of this before Apple? Given Google's emphasis on seamless user experiences and the growing importance of smartphone photography, a dedicated camera button or gesture would have been a natural fit for the Pixel 9. Not to mention, Google's leadership in AI thanks to Gemini, adding an intuitive shortcut to launch an AI vision search tool instantly could have enhanced the Pixel's appeal even further. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a dedicated camera button on the next Google Pixel phone...

Every iPhone 16 model features a new camera button. Here's what it can do

Apple's newly announced iPhone lineup has a separate camera button on the side of the device for quick and easy picture-taking. Apple's annual September keynote always debuts the next best iPhone model, and this year, the tech giant announced the iPhone 16 series on Monday. Along with upgrades to include Apple Intelligence compatibility, the iPhone 16 lineup has a new dedicated camera button on the phones to make taking photos and videos easier. Also: Everything announced at Apple's iPhone 16 event The Camera Control works in landscape or portrait mode with a button on the side of the iPhone. Pressing it once opens the camera app, then pressing it again takes a picture. By pressing down and holding the button, a video will start recording. In addition, you can lightly press the button to show camera functions you can choose from, such as zoom, exposure, or focal lengths, by swiping between the options. Popular apps like Snapchat will be able to utilize the Camera Control button. The Camera Control also uses Apple's Visual Intelligence to let you capture a photo of things around you, like a flyer or a restaurant, and have your iPhone's AI capability search for it to give you more information -- similar to the Google Lens feature found on Android phones. Apple says some of its AI features will begin rolling out in beta next month, with more features coming soon. The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max are available to preorder on Friday, Sept. 13 starting at $799, $899, $999, and $1,199, respectively, and officially go on sale Friday, Sept. 20. Also: The best iPhone models you can buy While a separate camera button is undoubtedly a unique upgrade to the iPhone 16 series, it's important to note that you can already use buttons on your iPhone to take a photo. The volume buttons on the iPhone allow you to take a photo by pressing either one once or take many photos via shutter mode by pressing and holding down either one.

Apple iPhone 16 and 16 Plus Feature Dedicated 'Camera Control' Button

Apple has unveiled the iPhone 16 line, and the base-level models are receiving exciting new features. Physically, the biggest update is the orientation of the camera, which is now in a vertical stacked orientation, as opposed to previous generations' diagonal design. In addition to a cleaner aesthetic on the back panel, this orientation of the lenses allows users to create spatial video for Apple Vision Pro. It's the first time iPhone had this camera orientation since the iPhone 12. Another big feature is the implementation of a dedicated, touch-sensitive Camera Control. It can function as a shutter button, but based on the product videos shown during the event, the Camera Control also can respond to touches and slide motions to adjust controls or zoom in. This makes the iPhone that much more of a photographer-friendly tool by further capturing the point-and-shoot experience. The new Camera Control is a fully featured new control scheme that sits flush alongside the side of the phone, which uses a haptic feedback click function similar to former iPhone home buttons. One click of the button opens the camera, and a second click will take a photo. It also can recognize a half-press, similar to the way a mirrorless camera activates autofocus on a half-press of the shutter. Holding a half-press can let you adjust depth of field in portrait mode, or bring up other camera settings before you take a photo. The Camera Control can also utilize a new Visual Intelligence feature, where Apple Intelligence can pull up relevant information about whatever is in frame. The presentation gave examples of taking a photo of a restaurant and Siri can pull up the menu, or providing product information The build is aluminum, and features a new ceramic display cover, and the display can range from 2,000 nits in sunlight down to 1 nit in the dark. The screens on the iPhone 16 and 16 Plus also now project a color glow on the edges when Siri is activated. The new models also feature an action button, which replaces the longstanding mute switch above the volume rockers. The button can be programed for recording voice memo, translating a phrase, and downloading a song. The actions can also be programmed based on time of day. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus both come with the new A18 chip, which is designed to support Apple Intelligence, Apple's new AI software. Apple CEO Tim Cook proudly stated the iPhone 16 family was designed "from the ground up" for Apple Intelligence. The new chip is 30% faster than the iPhone 15. The new phones come black, pink, blue, green, and white. Last year's iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models received substantial upgrades to the camera, increasing the resolution from 12 megapixels to 48. However, when using telephoto mode, that image gets cropped down to 12 megapixels.

I tried the new Camera Control on iPhone 16 -- here's my pros and cons

The new Camera Control makes things easier and harder at the same time I want to like the new Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro series. And there's some really neat features it unlocks, but I'm also torn about its execution based on my iPhone 16 Pro hands-on review. Let's take a step back though. What is the Camera Control and what can it do? The Camera Control is not a physical button. It's a recessed tactile switch on the right side of the iPhone 16 series that provides the feeling of a click via a capacitive sensor. With this control you can launch the camera with a press, then quickly take a photo with another press. And if you want to start a video, you just long press. But this is just the start of what the Camera Control can do. You can toggle between multiple options -- such as zoom, exposure and depth of field -- by sliding your finger along the button. This is the part that got a bit confusing when I tried Camera Control. It's a bit too easy to skip past the option you want or to not move where you want in the menu. It's a bit finicky. And you need to do a double soft press to bring up the menu to switch from one Camera Control option to the next. It's kind of like pressing Home. But this can be tricky, too. While zooming in, I accidentally activated the Camera Control menu and all of sudden I was controlling the exposure instead of zooming in. Once I got the hang of it, though, it was indeed satisfying to zoom in and out with a slide of the finger. Camera Control is going to get better over time, too, thanks to Apple Intelligence. You'll be able to do things like fire up the camera while you're in front of a restaurant and get the rating and hours or point your iPhone 16 at a flyer for a concert and add it to your calendar. This is very much copying Google Lens and Gemini Live, but I'll take it. In fact, Apple is working with third parties like Google for search and ChatGPT for, say, solving a math problem. My problem with the Camera Control is that is that you once start digging into the features, it's not necessarily better than using a touchscreen. It's a small button and not as precise as just tapping your iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro's display. I'm not saying it's as vestigial as the scroll wheel on the disaster that is the Rabbit AI device, but I was reminded of it. So for now I'm lukewarm on the Camera Control. It's a bit finicky for my tastes, but I'll need to live with it for at least a week before I can say if it's worth the hype. And even then I'll need to use the visual intelligence features (once they're available) to make a final judgement.