Using this button on my iPhone has saved me so much time – here’s how you can do the same
Using this button on my iPhone has saved me so much time – here’s how you can do the same
Publish Date: 2026-05-31 05:30:00
Source Domain: amateurphotographer.com
The Camera Control button debuted with 2024’s iPhones. At first, it felt like an odd addition for Apple – a company famously obsessed with minimalist design. But for photographers, a dedicated shutter quickly proved its worth. With a press, you can launch a camera app (chosen in Settings Camera ‘Camera Control’), and light swipes and half-presses then let you make adjustments without touching the screen.
There are, however, two major limitations. First, not every iPhone includes Camera Control. Secondly, it only supports one camera app at a time. And if you’re big into iPhone photography, chances are you work with a bunch of camera apps, along with a range of editing and sharing tools. Fortunately, iPhones have another button you can use for all that.
The Action button rocked up on the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, and became standard across the line the following year. Even the iPhone 16e has one. Yet, from what I can tell, most iPhone users barely know it exists.
By default, the Action button toggles Silent mode, but you can customise its behaviour in Settings ‘Action Button’. Several options are available. By far the most useful is Shortcut, because that lets you do all kinds of things with the Action button. Such as, for example, turning it into a powerful launcher for photographers.
Lights, cameras, actions
If you like the sound of that, open the Shortcuts app and tap + to create a new shortcut. Search for and select ‘Choose from Menu’ from the actions list. This creates a pop-up menu that appears when you press the Action button.
Before adding anything else, tap the shortcut name at the top of the screen and rename it to something sensible, such as Photography. Also tap ‘Choose Icon’ and pick a natty camera icon.
By default, your menu will contain two blank entries, imaginatively titled One and Two. Let’s turn those into app launchers. In each case, tap in the ‘Search Actions’ field, pick…
