The camera control on the iPhone 16 (Pro), iPhone 17 (Pro) and iPhone Air is a pressure-sensitive button that allows you to quickly open the camera, take photos and adjust settings such as zoom, exposure and depth of field. Since iOS 26, you can also set this control to your own preferences, for example which functions appear in the menu and how you operate the button.
These adjustments provide flexible operation, specially tailored to the way you photograph. This will hopefully make the camera controller a powerful tool for both quick snapshots and creative photos.
Pressure-sensitive camera controller for iPhone
The iPhone 16 (Pro) and newer have a pressure-sensitive camera controller. This gives you another way to access camera tools while taking photos and videos. Swipe your finger to adjust exposure or depth of field and scroll through the lenses or use digital zoom to frame everything the way you want.
The extremely accurate pressure sensor with tactile feedback makes it just like using the shutter button of an SLR camera. And the new, unique touch sensor recognizes touches such as clicking and swiping so you can quickly access all kinds of camera functions.
Conditions and location
The camera control can be found on the right side of the iPhone Air, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 or later, iPhone 16 Pro or later, and iPhone 16 Pro Max or later. The elongated button is placed on the side below the side button and can be used while using the camera app and third-party apps that use the camera.
Customize and personalize camera controller
Since iOS 26 you can personalize the Camera Control and adjust it completely to your wishes. This way you can disable certain controls and manage gestures such as soft pressing.
- Open Settings
- Navigate to ‘Camera’
- Tap ‘Camera Control’
Choose default camera app
In the ‘Launch camera’ option you can indicate which app should be opened when you press the camera controller. This can be the standard camera app, but you can also link third-party apps or other camera functions to it.
Click once or twice
Via the settings you can indicate whether you need to press the camera controller once or twice to open the linked app. You can also indicate that the screen must be on to use the camera controller. This prevents you from accidentally opening the camera app. You cannot change the button you hold down and it is intended for Visual Intelligence.
Adjust controls
Since iOS 26, you can adjust the controls of the Camera Control button. For example, you can disable the gentle press on the camera control by disabling the ‘Camera adjustments’ option. You can also hide certain controls.
- Open Settings
- Go to ‘Camera’
- Tap ‘Camera Control’
- Scroll down to ‘Controls’
- Enable the ‘Camera adjustments’ option
- Tap ‘Customize’
Then you can turn off gestures like Soft Press and Swipe. Via the ‘Controls’ option you have the option to hide certain camera functions. For example, you can optionally disable the settings for hue, styles, exposure, etc. for the camera controller. You can also change the order with the three horizontal stripes. This way you maintain a better overview when using this button and only the options you really want to use are shown.
In addition, it is recommended to disable the ‘Clean preview’ option. This ensures that all app controls remain visible in the camera app when you use the camera control.