- Apple can keep the camera control button
- The previous rumors suggested that it would not be on the iPhone 18
- We can see a simpler button on future iPhones
Last week we listen to a rumor that the iPhone 17 would be the last to show off the camera, which was only introduced last year with the iPhone 16, but a new filtration suggests that the button will live, although in a different way.
The new rumor comes from a well -known Digital Tipster (through Macrumors), which establishes that the camera control components are in production for the iPhone 18. That refutes the idea that Apple would get rid of it, since it is not seeing much use.
However, there is a turn: Apple is apparently removing the capacitive sensor next year to reduce costs. That is the sensor that detects any type of touch or sliding, which allows users to gradually change configuration such as exposure or zoom.
That will leave only the pressure sensor, detecting different touches of different strengths. We will have to wait and see how that could affect the different functions of the camera control: some of them can be reassigned or replaced, with the help of iOS.
Mixed reactions
When the camera control was introduced with the models of the iPhone 16, Apple described it as a characteristic that “elevates the experience of the camera” and that is “full of innovation”, which offers easier access to several camera controls and visual intelligence.
In our review of the iPhone 16, we describe it as an “important improvement” for Apple phones, and in fact the “best addition” to 2024 phones. However, it did not appear on the iPhone 16E that Apple launched the following February.
Despite our enthusiasm for the small button, it is fair to say that the reaction in general has mixed. Some have struggled to find a real purpose for camera control, but it seems that an investment of time and effort is required to make the most of it.
What seems clear is that we will recover the standard camera control button with the four phones of the iPhone 17 in September, including, if the leaks are believed, the iphone 17 air that supposedly replaces the iPhone 16 Plus this year.
