How to Get the Most Out of the iPhone 15 Pro's Action Button

With the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple replaced the traditional mute switch with a new multi-function Action Button. The button can be assigned to perform a number of tasks, ranging from activating the flashlight to turning on the camera. Perhaps the most useful way to use the Action Button is with Shortcuts, because the single button can perform more than one action at once or bring up a selection of tools.


We've rounded up three of the best methods for using Shortcuts to get the most out of the Action Button.

  1. MultiButton Shortcut - Federico Vittici of MacStories created a way for two separate shortcuts to be assigned to the Action button. With MultiButton, if you press the Action Button once, it runs the primary shortcut, but if you press it twice in quick succession, it will run a secondary shortcut. Since Apple doesn't support multiple presses for the Action Button, this is a clever workaround. The MultiButton Shortcut is available from MacStories, and Viticci also has some Shortcut suggestions to use with the MultiButton.
  2. Position-Based Actions - YouTuber Dan Vittorini created a Shortcut that performs different actions depending on the orientation of the iPhone when it's activated. If the ‌iPhone‌ is in portrait orientation, it toggles silent mode. If the phone is held with the top to the left, it takes a photo, and if the phone is held with the top to the right, it takes a video. You can, of course, customize these to your liking.
  3. Shortcuts Folder - Perhaps the simplest way to make use of the Action Button is to set it to show the Shortcuts Folder, a unique action only available to the Action Button. You can set it to show all of your Shortcuts or just your favorites, so when you press the Action Button, you get a menu with your most useful Shortcuts. To set this up, open up the Settings app, choose Action Button, swipe over to Shortcut, tap on Choose a Shortcut... then select Show Folder and choose your preferred folder.

Have you found other interesting ways to use the Action Button? Let us know in the comments below.

Popular Stories

WWDC25 Live Coverage Feature 1

WWDC 2025 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements led by a design revamp across Apple's platforms that will also see the numbering of all of...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 9 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
liquid glass

Apple Announces All-New 'Liquid Glass' Software Redesign Across iOS 26 and More

Monday June 9, 2025 10:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a complete redesign of all of its major software platforms called "Liquid Glass." Announced simultaneously for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and CarPlay, Liquid Glass forms a new universal design language for the first time. At its WWDC 2025 keynote address, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi said "Apple Silicon has become dramatically more powerful...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 hero 250609

Apple Announces iOS 26 With 'Liquid Glass' Design, Live Translation, Overhauled Phone App, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC announced iOS 26, introducing a comprehensive visual redesign built around its new "Liquid Glass" concept, alongside expanded Apple Intelligence capabilities, updates to core communication apps, and more. Liquid Glass is a translucent material that reflects and refracts surroundings to create dynamic, responsive interface elements, according to Apple. The new design language...

Top Rated Comments

contacos Avatar
22 months ago
It’s in a weird position and should be positioned below the power button to use it frequently to be honest
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FSMBP Avatar
22 months ago
Can't wait until they allow us to do different actions based on: long press, single press, double-press.

Ideally, long press would turn silent on/off

A single press would be nice for a shortcuts menu or camera.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orev Avatar
22 months ago
I like the Action button, but just can't get on board with that configuration screen. It's just so out of place compared to every other setting screen. I hope it doesn't foreshadow a major redesign they have planned for future IOS versions.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thelookingglass Avatar
22 months ago
Have to be honest. I set it once when I got the phone and have never thought about it again.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cocky jeremy Avatar
22 months ago
There aren't enough useful actions right now for this to be worth it to me. I just use it to go into the camera straight into video mode. Lockscreen for photos, action button for video.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PuffleDunk Avatar
22 months ago
I'm happy with a shortcut menu I created. When I long press the Action button I get a text menu that looks something like this (with explanations in parens):

Actions:
Camera (go to Camera - photo mode)
Silence (toggle ringer on/off)
Flashlight (toggle flashlight on/off)
Magnifier (go to Magnifier)
Voice (go to Voice Recorder)
Files... (bring up a sub-menu of important documents to view, e.g. driver's license, insurance, passport, Covid card, etc.)

It's all in a single shortcut I called "Action Button".

The action is "Choose from Menu". Each menu item gets a simple action to invoke, with "Files..." getting a sub-menu (using the same "Choose from Menu" action).

The "Files..." menu items invoke "Open File" with various documents chosen from folders in the Files app.

Hope that's useful.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)