The line between expensive cameras and iPhones blurs every year, as Apple adds more pro features to its premium phone line. From the high megapixel counts and wicked zoom lenses on the likes of the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the direct-to-external storage filming that professionals might want for massive, RAW video, iPhones are becoming more and more a legitimate way to take professional-looking photos and videos.
Now it looks like Apple is taking one of the most tactile parts of a DSLR — its two-stage camera button — and adding it and its functionality to the next generation of iPhones with the iPhone 16.
Putting the ‘Pro’ in Pro iPhones
As previously reported, the Capture button has been a rumor circulating from various outlets. It's already been purported to act like a digital camera button — a light press initiates focus, and then a final hard press takes the snap.
Now Instant Digital has also taken to the Chinese social media platform Weibo to reiterate claims about the feature, going further to say that a tap of the button will launch the camera app, ready to take either a video or a picture. It was initially thought the button would be for capturing videos, although that use seems to have now expanded. It’s a cool-sounding feature and one that shows how much Apple wants these devices to be used as cameras by its range of different users.
Whether the Capture button replaces the Action button is another thing — it will be taking the place of part of the antenna of the phone, according to leaked prototypes, which will be moving to below the volume controls. Let’s hope we won’t get told ‘You’re holding it wrong!’ as the 5G signal bar plummets to zero when you go to call your grandma.
