Apple's latest iPhone 16 models include a new Camera Control button (located on the lower right-hand side when holding the phone in portrait mode). The new button aims to make it easier to adjust photography settings when shooting with the iPhone in both portrait and landscape orientation.
By default, a single click of the Camera Control button brings up the Camera app, which is where the button's additional functionality lays hidden, but it can be easily invoked with light press gestures.
A light press on the Camera Control button engages a haptic click to bring up settings like zoom and exposure, which you can adjust with a swipe, while a double light press lets you switch between all these settings, selecting individual options with a further light press.
If you find yourself accidentally opening the Camera app by unintentionally pressing the Camera Control button, you can either disable the button entirely, or you can change the single-click gesture that invokes the Camera app to a double-click gesture. The following steps show you how to do the latter:
- On your iPhone, open Settings.
- Tap Camera.
- Tap Camera Control.
- Under "Launch Camera," tap Double Click.
That's all there is to it. A single click of the Camera Control button will do nothing, while a double click will get you into the Camera app or any other third-party camera app that you have assigned to the button.
In an iOS 18 software update coming later this year, Camera Control will introduce a two-stage shutter that lets you automatically lock focus and exposure with a light press — so you can re-frame your shot without losing focus on your subject.
