iOS 17.1 Beta 3 Prevents Action Button From Activating the Camera or Flashlight in a Pocket

Apple in the third beta of iOS 17.1 tweaked the functionality of the Action Button to prevent certain actions from being triggered while the iPhone is in a pocket or a bag. The Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Focus, and Magnifier functions will no longer activate when the Action Button is pressed if the ‌iPhone‌ is tucked away in a pocket.

iphone 15 pro action button settings
Actions that make sense to trigger in a pocket like the mute function and a shortcut can still be activated while the ‌iPhone‌ is inside of a pocket by long pressing on the Action Button, but other features are disabled.

In earlier versions of iOS 17 and iOS 17.1, all of the Action Button functions can be accidentally activated in a pocket, draining ‌iPhone‌ battery and causing unwanted recordings and images.

Though the Action Button requires a long press to activate, there have still been complaints about it triggering unintentionally while in a pocket, which this change will prevent for functions that cannot be used when the ‌iPhone‌ is in a pocket.

Note that these changes apply only to the Action Button, so it is still possible to accidentally trigger the Camera or the Flashlight from the Lock Screen while the ‌iPhone‌ is in a pocket.

Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Top Rated Comments

now i see it Avatar
8 weeks ago
and yet the flashlight and camera buttons are still live on the lock screen
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Havalo Avatar
8 weeks ago
This action button is probably going to end up with the same fate as the TouchBar.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NCPine Avatar
8 weeks ago
If they wanted to add another button, they should have done so without removing the mute switch. This was not a well thought-out design.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
midkay Avatar
8 weeks ago
This mostly makes sense, for things like flashlight and camera, but setting a Focus is a strange thing to prevent. That seems like something you might want to toggle in-pocket, just like Silent mode.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bollman Avatar
8 weeks ago
And when will they make a toggle for activating camera by swiping on the lockscreen while locked? It is stupid! I have had the camera go on in my pocket soooo many times.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
till Avatar
8 weeks ago
The biggest UX issue with the action button is that it's just too high, even on the non-Max phone. Like it's perfect if you hold your phone in your left hand, but in your right hand it's super awkward.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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