In 2024, Apple introduced a dedicated Camera Control button to simplify the process of taking photos on your iPhone. A year later, and I’ve finally upgraded to an iPhone 17 Pro that includes this feature.
Though I tend to shoot a lot of photos on my iPhone, I didn’t realize just how much I’d come to rely on Camera Control. Here’s what makes this button so compelling.
1
Fast Access to the Camera App
By far the most obvious benefit, the Camera Control button feels perfectly tuned to make taking a photo easier than ever. Pull your phone out, press and hold the button for just the right amount of time, and you’ll see the Camera app spring to life on your screen. Snap a photo with the same button, and you’re done.
The safeguards are what really make the difference. Apple has designed it so that a fast accidental squeeze of the button doesn’t immediately open the camera. Having your iPhone in your pocket and pressing the Camera Control button—even for the “right” amount of time—also doesn’t launch the camera app. This avoids the pitfall of having a camera roll full of pocket shots or, worse still, videos.
There’s no need to wake your iPhone first to access a lock screen shortcut. Once you’ve adapted to having Camera Control at your beck and call, you’re far less likely to miss a point-and-shoot moment. Of course, you can dive into the Camera app and pick between modes and lenses if you want to, but the feature works best for simple shots.
The only drawback is that you can’t map the Camera Control button to a photography app of your choice. You still can’t pick the “default” app for taking photos on your iPhone, which is bad news for anyone who dislikes Apple’s default app and would rather use something else instead.
2
No Fiddly Swipes
The process of upgrading a modern iPhone to a slightly more modern iPhone is predictably uneventful. You’ll get an overall improvement in speed and camera quality, but relatively few brand-new features to play with. You’re probably coming from the exact same operating system, which means everything looks identical once you’ve migrated from one device to the next.
Camera Control is a bit different. Not only is it a shortcut for taking photos, it’s a capacitive and pressure-sensitive input. This means you can assign functions to the camera control button using the menu under Settings > Camera > Camera Control. Disabled by default, this is one of the first things I did since I thought being able to modify camera settings without touching the screen would be handy.
How wrong I was. You can turn on “Camera Adjustments” from this menu and then customize what can be controlled. This includes camera attributes like zoom, exposure, styles, tone, and more. It technically works, but it’s also fiddly. It’s too easy, when you’re wrestling with your iPhone and trying to take a one-handed photo in the moment, to accidentally change something.
These controls feel almost antithetical to the simplicity that having a dedicated camera button and shutter release affords. It took me a few weeks of patiently trying to adjust before I decided to turn them off altogether. I’ve not looked back, and my experience using Camera Control in “dumb” mode has been all the better for it.
3
Visual Intelligence Can Be Handy
I make no secret of the fact that I’m not much of a fan of artificial intelligence features in general, but Visual Intelligence is something I’ve been pleasantly surprised by. For the uninitiated, this feature allows you to press and hold the Camera Control button for longer than normal, point your camera at something, and learn more about it.
The main thing I’ve been using this for is looking up the names of plants, for which it works surprisingly well. My partner and I are in the process of planting up a small garden, and when we spot natives out in the bush or things shooting up that we haven’t intentionally planted, then being able to check quickly with the squeeze of a button has been handy.
I appreciate that this isn’t what most people are going to be using this feature for, but I previously relied on an app called PictureThis for this task. Such a third-party app requires unlocking my iPhone, finding the app, and skipping the “buy a subscription” nag screen every time, so Visual Intelligence is much faster and less annoying.
4
My Case Has a “Proper” Camera Control Cover
Camera Control could be the most useful button in the world, but if it’s miserable to interact with, then it’s not going to be a feature you end up using or becoming reliant upon. My partner’s iPhone 16 Pro unfortunately falls into this category, and it’s all down to the way the button is integrated into the case they’re using.
Apple’s decision to make the Camera Control button capacitive and pressure-sensitive has meant that it can’t use the same style of button cover that iPhone cases have had since the device was first introduced. This has led to an epidemic of cases that simply leave a gap for Camera Control, which requires that you place your finger into a cavity within the case in a manner that feels strained and unnatural.
I went for an official Apple case, mostly so I could test out the successor to the company’s ill-fated FineWoven lineup and because I’m a big fan of how the green looks next to the silver camera plateau on the back of the 17 Pro. Since this is a first-party case, Camera Control is perfectly implemented in that it retains all functionality while being protected from the elements.
The TechWoven case that I’m using was designed so that the Camera Control button sits perfectly flush with the edge of the chassis. It stands out just enough that you can find it in your pocket, while allowing your finger to rest in place and maintain a good grip when you’re feeling trigger-happy.
The good news is that you don’t have to pick an Apple case to get this; many case manufacturers have implemented similarly elegant solutions. Unfortunately, this means I can’t go back to my previous case of choice (the Quad Lock series) until the issue is “fixed.”
5
It’s Freed Up a Handy Lock Screen Shortcut
Before the arrival of the Camera Control button, most of us were using Apple’s surprisingly tactile lock screen shortcut to launch the Camera app. But once you’ve adjusted to the change, you’ll find that you no longer even wake your iPhone’s display to launch the camera.
When Apple introduced Camera Control alongside iPhone 16 models, it made a change to iOS 18 that allows anyone to switch these shortcuts out. Just tap and hold your lock screen, hit “Customize,” and then hit the “-” minus button next to the camera to remove the shortcut. Now hit the “+” plus button to add another.
You can go with anything here, from running a shortcut to using your iPhone’s translate feature. You can use the shortcut to run any app, which is a great way to get access to a secondary camera app if you prefer to use one of those. You could add a Shazam shortcut, or you could access third-party voice assistants like Alexa or ChatGPT’s voice mode once you’ve installed the relevant app.
You can even circumvent some of your iPhone’s trickier shortcuts, like adding a shortcut to the Wallet app so that you don’t have to double-tap the Side button. You can add accessibility features like Assistive Access or Assistive Touch (or other such features which can be handy to all sorts of iPhone users). Right now, I’ve set mine to iPhone camera app Manual, which gives me greater control over photos when I need it, without having to dig through my iPhone to find an app.
But you can go a step further and move the Flashlight to the Action Button and free up both of these buttons. Or you can just remove them entirely if you’d rather have a clean look.
6
After a Month, I’ve Fully Adjusted
Like a new feature in any other piece of technology, the Camera Control button has an adjustment period before it hits peak usefulness. At first, I was still launching the camera from the lock screen and Control Center shortcuts, tapping the on-screen shutter button, and opening PictureThis.
I’ve had my iPhone 17 Pro for a month, and I’m now all-in on the feature. If Apple were to take it away, I would sorely miss it (it would be the 3D Touch fiasco all over again). This wouldn’t be the case if I hadn’t put in a bit of effort to create the muscle memory or specifically chosen a case that facilitates the feature.
If you’re still rocking an iPhone 15 or earlier, I wouldn’t say you should upgrade specifically for Camera Control. It’s nice to have, and something you quickly get used to, but you’re better off waiting and stacking your upgrades.
That way, when you do finally upgrade your iPhone, the upgrade will feel more significant than a slightly faster processor and more storage.