Apple to Simplify iPhone 18 Camera Control Button, Not Remove It

An established Chinese leaker has pushed back against recent rumors suggesting Apple plans to eliminate the Camera Control button from the iPhone 18, instead claiming the company is working to simplify the component to reduce costs.

According to Weibo leaker Instant Digital, the Camera Control's pressure-sensitive modules for the iPhone 18 series currently remain in trial production. However, Apple is reportedly removing the capacitive sensor from the current dual-sensor design, and opting instead to rely solely on pressure sensing to achieve all button functions.

The current Camera Control button on iPhone 16 models uses both capacitive and pressure sensors beneath a sapphire crystal surface. The capacitive layer detects touch gestures, while the force sensor recognizes different pressure levels for taps, presses, and swipes.

Instant Digital says Apple's revised approach is similar to designs found in devices like the OPPO X8 Ultra and vivo X200 Ultra, where pressure sensors alone can recognize light taps, firm presses, and sliding gestures.

The leaker suggests cost concerns are driving the change, noting that the current solution is "genuinely very expensive" for Apple and is generating costly after-sales repairs. This is said to be creating "significant internal cost pressure" for Apple, especially since not all of its AI-powered Visual Intelligence features have fully rolled out yet, which is limiting the button's perceived value.

• iPhone 16 Camera Control: Everything You Need to Know

Instant Digital has a decent track record for leaks, suggesting this is a genuine debunk of the recent report from another Weibo account indicating that Apple would drop the Camera Control from the iPhone 18 lineup due to low user engagement. Its removal would have been quite the reversal – Apple only debuted the Camera Control button on the iPhone 16 series last year.