Apple’s attempt to make the iPhone 16 series stand out a bit is… a fake button it calls Camera Control. But unlike last year’s new button, this one doesn’t actually physically squeeze and uses sensors and haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of movement. And in my brief hands-on experience right after Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event, I have to say that I thought it was a real button.
I got a quick look at the iPhone 16 Pro here at Apple Park and learned more about the new camera controls and its corresponding interface. When I first picked up the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I felt it looked sleeker and slimmer than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which was nice. My fingers were then drawn to the new “button” with a groove surrounding it, which makes it easier to recognize by touch.
I pressed the camera control button from the home screen and the camera app quickly opened. The Apple representative who maintains these phones encouraged me to push the camera control with varying pressures, as a lighter touch changed the dial that appeared on the screen next to where the button sat. I dragged my finger across this surface and the numeric keypad moved with me, although I found the direction of movement a bit counterintuitive at first. However, I’m one of those players who has to reorient my controllers when looking around and navigating any environment, so that could just be me.
There is no way to change the direction of the camera control while scrolling, but you can change the settings to adjust the pressure sensitivity. When the Apple rep asked me to push the control harder, I was shocked by what felt like an actual button moving under my fingertip. I reconfirmed with an Apple rep that it wasn’t actually a mechanical button that moved, and was met with a reassuring nod. Beside me, fellow reviewer Brian Tong echoed my sentiment that the camera controls feel like a pretty real button.
In addition to admiring the physical sensation on the iPhone 16 Pro, I also took a closer look at the changes to the interface. When I first clicked on the camera controls, options appeared that let me choose Exposure, Zoom, Camera, Styles, and Tone. Pressing further into each of these modes locked those modes and a different dial with more markers appeared, and swiping the sensor would move the wheel. In camera mode, I was able to quickly switch between ultra-wide, prime and zoom options, similar to how the viewfinder currently works. If you prefer to use the existing interface to switch cameras, you can still do so.
When you select the Styles option, you’ll swipe through the new Photo Styles that Apple introduced this year. In each of these, you can tap the icon in the top right of the app to edit them with a new touchpad-ish interface. Dragging your finger around this square below will adjust the color temperature and hue.
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