iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 have a physical camera button
If you’ve upgraded to an iPhone 16 or 17 (except the iPhone 16e), you’ll notice a new Camera Control button on the right edge of the phone. It's the lower button that is flush with the body of the iPhone, or recessed if your iPhone is in a case.
This button offers three different functions:
Quick press: Launches the Camera app (or your favorite third-party camera app, which you can choose in Settings) and also snaps a photo once the camera is on.
Long press: Launches Visual Intelligence, which allows you to send a photo to Google Image Search, ask a question about it with ChatGPT, and more.
Slide or light press: Adjusts camera controls. I find this fussy and harder to use than the on-screen controls, so I’ll show you how to turn it off like I do.
Make the button simple: turn off Camera Adjustments
I really like the button for extremely fast one-handed access to the camera. After all, the camera is one of the most popular features of the iPhone. However, this button is also touch sensitive, allowing you to do things like adjust exposure and focus using a series of swipes and light presses.
Personally, I have never found myself using the control features, as I can more easily do it from the screen itself. If you keep triggering extra controls by accident, you can turn those off so the button is nothing more than a button.
Follow these steps to simplify the Camera Control button:
Go to Settings → Camera → Camera Control
Turn Camera Adjustments off
Choose what a press opens (Launch Action)
If you prefer to scan a QR code, use Magnifier, or use a third-party camera app like Halide, you can pick a different action for a single press.
Go to Settings → Camera → Camera Control → Launch Action
Even faster access to the camera
By default, the Camera Control button only works when the screen is awake. To make it faster, use the Require Screen On toggle:
Go to Settings → Camera → Camera Control → Require Screen On
Turn it off: Launch the Camera instantly with one press, even if the screen is off. Great for quick shots because you can pull your iPhone out of your pocket and open the camera with one click.
Leave it on: Prevent accidental presses in your pocket or bag.
Visual Intelligence with press‑and‑hold
If Apple Intelligence is enabled, press and hold the Camera Control button to open Visual Intelligence. Once it opens, I’ll see three options:
Ask: This sends your photo to ChatGPT, which will comment on the contents of your photo. Type a follow-up question or ask specifics. No ChatGPT account is required, but if you have a free or paid account, your request is saved, and you have access to paid models, which might provide a better answer.
Camera shutter (round button): Takes a photo and uses Apple Intelligence to analyze the image. This allows you to get a summary of text, add dates to your calendar, and more.
Search: Sends your photo to Google Image Search, which searches the web for similar images.
Here are some ways I use Visual Intelligence:
Identify a plant or ask what might be wrong with it.
Ask questions about a product in the supermarket, such as nutritional content, how to use its ingredients, or for recipe ideas.
Snap a photo of a restaurant to ask for reviews, hours, or suggestions from the menu.
Take a photo of a piece of furniture and ask where I can buy it.
Capture a sign or plaque in a foreign language and translate it into English. I can even ask for cultural context to better understand things that might not be obvious to an American.
Take a photo of a crash report and ask what the error means.
Photograph something broken and ask how to fix it.
Practice makes perfect
The Camera Control button is one of the few parts of the iPhone that feels more analog—press a button and something happens! I make a habit of using this every time I take a photo. I end up taking more photos, and it feels like I’m using a camera rather than a smartphone.
