I almost can't believe it, but since the launch of iPhone 16 (Pro) passed exactly half a year on Thursday. These models are already in the second half of their main cycle, when they are sold as the latest models Applu. For over half a year now, we have had a relatively controversial new feature in the form of the Camera Control button, which Apple He put it on the right side of all iPhones 16 as a kind of camera shutter on steroids.
This feature not only allows you to take photos, but also to control the entire camera very well, and to a certain extent, allows the user to abandon touch control when taking photos. However, this seemingly great idea received its first blows immediately after the start of sales in the form of criticism from users that the button is placed too high and therefore cannot be used very intuitively. However, its other features were also subjected to criticism, and some would say that the button is calculated and after six months not even a dog barks at it. But is this really the case?
I confess that when I iPhone 16 Pro When I first got my hands on it, I also had mixed feelings about the Camera Control button. On the one hand, I found the physical shutter button nice, but on the other hand, I felt that even for me, as a man with standardly large hands, the button on the side of the phone was placed quite unluckily and, to put it simply, it simply didn't fit in my hand. Switching between different camera settings then seemed quite tedious to me, and actually the only fun thing for me personally was the zoom, which could be controlled by moving my finger sideways along the button. But now I have to say that I have completely reevaluated my perception of this element.
I still can't say that I would use the Camera Control button for maximum, but there are a number of situations where it comes in handy. The first one for me is definitely the quick launch of the camera, where you can activate the Camera application by simply pressing the button and that after slight adjustment of settings even if your display is off. This is a small thing to some extent, but when you need to take a quick photo or video from time to time, the seconds saved are simply great – especially since, in addition to starting the Camera, you can immediately start recording by holding down the button, or by pressing it to capture a quick photo. So whether you like it or not, this new feature can really speed up working with the camera in certain situations, which is definitely nice.
Sure, one could argue with the previous lines that this is a small thing that is not essential. On the one hand, that is true, but on the other hand, the Action button is also a small thing, which I have grown to love over the last two years, even though it "only" speeds up the flashlight. These are just those little things that you don't really need for life, but it's nice to have because they make using the phone more enjoyable. Personally, I've gotten so used to launching the Camera via the side button that when it recently arrived for testing, iPhone 16e, I had a tendency to lower his camera over the side as well and I was kind of uncomfortable that it couldn't be done and I had to go the "old way" over the display.
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However, I didn't find the way to the new button just by launching the camera. I started using it more actively especially during the winter, when it was cold outside and I was wearing gloves. Although I have them in the version with touch pads on my fingers, and theoretically I should be able to control the display even with them, the reality is that the reliability of controlling the phone's display with gloves is quite poor for me. But at the same time, you don't want to take off your gloves in the cold and snow to take a few quick photos. It was at such moments that I was so happy that I could control the camera via the physical button, and although I only used it as a manual shutter release at those times and not for zooming or other photo editing, I was happy for this option. After all, it is not an emergency device, as some might think at first.
The last situation in which the button has made a lot of sense to me lately is taking photos or videos with one hand while the phone is in portrait orientation. ProThe grip with the finger on the shutter is personally much more secure for me than the grip in which my hand is "twisted" so that I lean the phone on my little finger and control the software shutter with my thumb. It is in portrait mode that the Camera Control button is at the ideal height for my thumb, and although I don't actually use any other functions here than just taking a photo or starting a video, I'm glad that the physical camera control is there and it makes using the iPhone a little easier for me.
Even though I'm starting to like the separate physical button for controlling the camera, I completely understand that this may not be the case in your case. For example, your wife who has a new iPhone as long as me, she absolutely didn't get used to it in half a year and now happily ignores it. However, I also met a user who, on the contrary, uses it for taking photos on her iPhone 16 Pro practically just this element and everything in between – including all the settings that can be changed through it.
Full shot next to the side button deployment Applu was not. However, I think that if he aimed more precisely and "placed" the button a little lower so that it was easier to reach with the index finger when shooting in landscape mode, or if he made its features available in other applications (for example, scrolling by moving your finger over the button in Safari, or various effects in games), this innovation would be perceived much, much more positively.
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I have iPhone 16 Pro a month and I've kind of gotten used to the action button for the camera and I'm trying to use it, but I don't take that many photos.
I reckon most users just turn on their cameras with it ;-)
Not even a camera.
After half a year, I gradually turned off all its touch functions... it does more harm than good... it's more pleasant to use the zoom button even for taking pictures... it's desperate that someone is presenting this nonsense as the main attraction of a new model
I.
I bought the 16 pro because of the shutter button and AI. Unfortunately, both disappointed me. I don't use the shutter button and AI is unavailable. Disappointed.
So, I've used this button about three times since September and the absence of AI really annoys me.