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I was super excited when Apple showcased a dedicated camera button on the iPhone 16 during the “It’s Glowtime” September 2024 event. However, after using an iPhone 16 Pro Max since launch day, I have to say I’m pretty disappointed, as I barely even use it.
1It’s Finicky
Now, don’t get me wrong; you canquickly launch the Camera app with the Camera Control button. However, once you try to use the Camera Control in the Camera app, you quickly realize it’s not exactly as intuitive as Apple made it seem.
The light-press gesture doesn’t work properly sometimes, and the swipe gesture isn’t as seamless as I had imagined. I find it much easier to tap or swipe through the UI elements in the Camera app rather than sliding my finger over the tiny Camera Control button.
Overall, the Camera Control button doesn’t help you save any time once you’re in the Camera app. If anything, you’ll spend more time finding the setting you want to adjust.
2I Accidentally Misclick It
Since I barely use the Camera Control button now, I often find myself misclicking it when I’m recording a video or taking photos while holding my iPhone with my left hand. The way I hold it, my ring finger sits right on the Camera Control button, making it easy to register an input accidentally.
When this happens, all the UI elements in the Camera app suddenly disappear, and I’m forced to use my right hand to swipe and exit the Camera Control overlay to get all the controls back.
3It Doesn’t Address Camera Shake
Some of you may know that you can press the Volume Down button to take a photo (or video) in the Camera app. However, the issue with using this physical button is that it causes a camera shake, and the result is a picture that’s not as sharp as you’d like.
I expected Apple to address this issue with the Camera Control button because it has a capacitive touch surface. Unfortunately, to take a picture, you still need to press down the button, which once again results in a camera shake. If Apple allowed users to take a picture with a simple tap or double-tap, this wouldn’t have been a problem.
So far, in my experience, the Camera Control doesn’t make it any easier to take pictures. Sure, I can launch the Camera app quickly now, but I can also do that with thecustomizable Action button on my iPhone. For now, I disabled the Camera Control on my iPhone so that I don’t accidentally press it while using the Camera app. Perhaps I’ll change my mind when Apple rolls out Visual Intelligence alongside iOS 18.2, which fully utilizes this new button.
