The brand new Digicam Management button on the iPhone 16 lineup opens the Digicam app, takes footage and adjusts digital camera settings on the fly. It gives a fast shortcut to utilizing one of the crucial common and essential iPhone options.
Apple baked loads of controls and interactivity into this progressive button. However whereas Cupertino’s designers are often restrained, some folks discover this new person interface slightly fiddly. The bodily clicking button additionally accepts contact enter if you swipe your finger alongside it. And it makes use of stress sensitivity and haptic suggestions as you maneuver by the iPhone’s digital camera settings.
Learn to grasp the iPhone 16’s new Digicam Management button in our information under.
Methods to use the Digicam Management button on iPhone 16
Considerably surprisingly, Apple didn’t restrict the brand new Digicam Management to the iPhone 16 Professional and Professional Max. Each the common iPhone 16 and the iPhone 16 Plus additionally include the sophisticated button. Alongside Apple Intelligence, it’s one of many marquee options of this yr’s iPhone lineup.
Desk of contents: Methods to use the Digicam Management button on iPhone 16
- Click on to open the digital camera and take footage
- Gentle-press to manage the digital camera and swap settings
- Click on and maintain to lock focus and publicity
- Change the Digicam Management settings
- Positive-tune the best way you utilize Digicam Management even additional
Click on to open the digital camera and take footage
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
The fundamentals of the Digicam Management appear very easy.
Merely click on the button, positioned towards the underside of the correct fringe of all iPhone 16 fashions, to open the Digicam app. In case your telephone is locked, the primary click on will get up the display, and the second click on will open the digital camera. If the display is already on, a single click on will instantly swap to the Digicam app. (This may be adjusted in Settings > Show & Brightness > Require Display screen On, however I don’t advocate disabling it. I attempted it out and found my telephone stored by chance opening the digital camera and recording in my pocket.)
With the digital camera open, click on the Digicam Management to take an image. Click on and maintain the button to file a fast video — it’ll cease recording if you let go. If you happen to maintain down the button however don’t transfer or say something, the video will finish after only a few seconds.
Gentle-press to regulate settings
The Digicam Management is pressure-sensitive, too. If you happen to apply slightly little bit of power to the button with out clicking it, you’ll deliver up a menu that allows you to zoom in or out. A fast swipe on the Digicam Management will all the time zoom to the following optical zoom degree — 0.5× to 1× to 2× to five× on the iPhone 16 Professional. Slowly roll your finger to zoom exactly.
Double-light-press the Digicam Management to modify between different features. The choices at launch embrace Publicity, Depth, Zoom (default), Cameras, Kinds and Tone. Gentle-press to pick one of many choices, then you possibly can double-light-press to return to the menu.
No matter setting you permit the Digicam Management on will keep there the following time you open the digital camera. So for those who discover the menu too fiddly to mess with when out and about, you possibly can set it the place you need and go away it there. For the reason that iPhone’s predominant touchscreen already gives gestures that management the zoom (pinch-to-zoom and the on-screen buttons) and publicity (faucet on the topic, then drag your finger up or down), I like to recommend setting the Digicam Management to one thing distinctive like Depth or Kinds.
Click on and maintain to lock focus and publicity
If you happen to’ve up to date to iOS 18.2, a brand new setting allows you to maintain down the Digicam Management to lock the main target and publicity, like a conventional digital camera.
If in case you have this setting enabled, holding down the button for a second with out clicking all of it the best way. You’ll see the yellow sq. seem within the heart of the body, indicating that focus and publicity are locked. You’ll be able to transfer the digital camera round or modify objects within the body, and your iPhone gained’t refocus anyplace else or change the brightness of the picture. Click on and maintain the digital camera management once more to take away the lock.
Change the Digicam Management settings
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
In Settings > Accessibility > Digicam Management (within the Bodily and Motor part) you will see a bunch of settings for a way the button works. You’ll be able to tweak issues in order that they work greatest for you:
- Disable Gentle-Press to show off the half-click gesture.
- Allow Swipe to let you swipe your finger on the Digicam Management to regulate a setting with out doing a light-press first. With each Swipe and Gentle-Press disabled, the Digicam Management will act as if it’s only a easy button — click on it to open the digital camera, click on it to take an image. I like to recommend this setting for those who discover the swipes and half-presses too fiddly.
- Change the Gentle-Press Power setting from Default to Lighter or Firmer. This modifications the quantity of power wanted to deliver up the menu. If you happen to set it to Firmer, it’s essential to click on more durable — however you’ll have to be extra exact differentiating between the on-screen menu and the complete button click on. If you happen to’re not apprehensive about unintentional enter, set to Lighter. I left mine on Default.
- Set Double Gentle-Press Velocity and Double Click on Velocity to Gradual or Slower when you’ve got a tough time doing double-clicks.
Positive-tune the best way you utilize iPhone 16’s Digicam Management even additional
For extra choices, go to Settings > Digicam > Digicam Management:
- The Clear Preview setting hides the iPhone’s different digital camera UI when you’re utilizing the Digicam Management. If you happen to nonetheless need to see the opposite buttons, flip it off.
- AE/AF Lock allows the click-and-hold gesture to lock autofocus and publicity, as described above, like a conventional digital camera. I discover this characteristic slightly finicky to make use of.
- Set Launch Digicam to Double Click on if you end up activating the Digicam Management too simply.
- Lastly, you possibly can change which app the Digicam Management opens. By default, it opens the iPhone’s inventory Digicam app. Nonetheless, it really works with different Apple apps in addition to third-party apps like Snapchat. If you happen to use the Magnifier app usually for accessibility, this is likely to be a greater use for the Digicam Management. For any app, the identical settings for Clear Preview, Swipe and Gentle-Press Power will nonetheless work, though assist in third-party apps could differ.
Extra new options in iOS 18
Your new iPhone additionally comes with iOS 18 — take a look at among the different nice new options:
And take a look at our full record of iOS 18 options for much more.
We initially revealed this text on the way to use the Digicam Management button on October 1, 2024. We up to date it on December 17, 2024 and April 22, 2025.
