Mario Bautista
I’m not a fan of the Camera Control on all the iPhone 16 models. It’s too hard to use, it’s in the way, and it’s mostly unnecessary. But I stumbled across an alternative way to use it that’s preferable.
Even so, I can honestly see the Camera Control going the way of the infamous MacBook Pro Touch Bar in a few years.
iPhone Camera Control tries too hard
All four models in the iPhone 16 series come with the Camera Control. Press this new touch-sensitive button on the right edge of the handset once, and the Camera application opens. Then you can press it again to take a picture. You can press hard and hold to start recording a video. Or press lightly and hold and move your finger to zoom in or out. Double-press and hold to switch to other camera settings.
If it isn’t obvious, that’s a lot for one button to do. As a result, the Camera Control takes practice to become familiar with. And even then, it’s easy to accidentally muck up your picture.
My true dislike of the Camera Control began when I was trying to take a group shot of my extended family. The parents tried to get their small children to look in the right direction and smile. When we got an approximation of this, I snapped a picture … only to discover my finger had accidentally bumped the Camera Control and switched to telephoto mode so the picture was useless. Sigh. Try again.
A better option
One way to prevent inadvertently mucking up the camera settings is to hover your fingertip above the iPhone Camera Control, not ever touching it until the instant you’re ready to take the picture. That’s doable but not great design. It feels unnatural, and it’s very easy to forget and rest a finger on the control.
I found what I believe is a better option.
I ended up taking the family photo mentioned above by flipping the iPhone over and using the Volume Down button as the shutter to take the picture. That’s an option that’s been available for many years.
But I also noticed that the Camera Control was still available when doing so. I can easily use my left thumb to change settings with it, but because I won’t use it as the shutter release, I don’t need to touch it unless I’m actually changing something. That means I don’t accidentally muck up the settings. And I can rest my right index finger on the Volume Down button until I’m ready to take the picture.
I’ve been snapping pictures this way for weeks now, and it works well.
iPhone Camera Control is a dud
This alternative method makes me less irritated with the new control on the iPhone. Still, it seems poorly thought out — something unusual for Apple.
Given that all the standard buttons for the iPhone 16 are on the edges near the top of the handset, gripping the handset needs to be toward the bottom. The Camera Control sits right in the middle of that area, and it’s all too easy to accidentally press it. If you haven’t already, configure the control to require two presses to activate: Settings > Camera > Camera Control > Double Click. Just don’t expect that to prevent accidental activations 100% of the time.
But worse than that, the feature seems like a solution in search of a problem. Changing settings in the Camera app is easy; no special button is required. Personally, I find that less hassle than trying to move my finger around exactly right on the button’s tiny touch panel.
Really, the new control reminds me of the Touch Bar. That thin, touch-sensitive OLED display replaced the row of physical function keys on MacBook Pro models. The Touch Bar was customizable, so it could include any buttons the user wanted. But mostly what people wanted was physical buttons.
Before Apple nixed it, the Touch Bar had fans, just as I’m sure the iPhone Camera Control has fans. But I don’t think there are nearly as many of them as Apple expected. Which is why I predict this feature will get quietly dropped from a future iPhone design, and only a few people will care.
