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Is the current state for starting a video so cumbersome that they need to build a new physical button to make it easier? I can understand the idea of making two assignable quick-action buttons, but a dedicated video button seems a bit strange.
They want to make it effortless because the more video you take, the faster your storage fills up -- which makes Apple money in on-device storage upgrades and/or iCloud Drive storage plans. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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I don't see the need for this additional button.

For years, I've just wanted the ability to record a landscape video while holding the phone in portrait orientation. Why can't they add that option? So what if the record screen maybe fills just the top 1/3 of the iPhone screen. Playback then would be the full widescreen like usual.

Can't stand all the vertical video recordings with playback on standard widescreen TV, news, and computer sites. Ok, and get off my lawn. ;)
 
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There are a lot of consoles out there, and they are still attached to TVs. Yes, people watch video on their phone, but I don't know anyone that only watches on their phone. Even the young teenagers in my house prefer a larger screen.
If i am watching a movie i really care about, i will use the tv but i more than likely default to my phone for 90 percent of the stuff i watch when i am home.
 
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Holding my iphone pro max in portrait and landscape mode, will be more awkward and a challenge in avoiding hitting the capture button.
 
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With Vision Pro and spatial video, a new dedicated button for video seems like something Apple will implement. Hope there is an option to change it to take photos too.
 
So why not make the former mute button do more? It could be context sensitive and have up to three “press states” without making it capacitive.
Making buttons context sensitive can also be confusing. I've wanted to turn down the volume while using the camera app, and taken a photo instead.
The action button should have the option to have more states, such as double click or tap and hold.
Now it's - here, click that button. The right one. No the upper-right one. Volume is on the left. No it's the middle; the top isn't volume. It's action, like it's anything. Forget it. Volume down is the bottom. On the left. Get a video of the kids! On the right! And you turned it off...
I recently got a Pixel phone. I like that I can double click the power button and it will bring up the camera app, no matter the state the phone is in (except powered completely off or installing a system update, of course). I believe the action button on the newest iPhone 15 Pro can be programmed to do the same thing. Sometimes I want to capture a spur-of-the-moment event, and the less lag and confusion, the better.

Even better would be if the button to launch the camera is also the shutter button. I could half-press the button to bring up a viewfinder, and complete the full press to take a photo, or a press and hold to start a video. If I release the half press, it could go back to whatever app I was using previously.

Apple's biggest focus in their marketing of the iPhone is its capabilities as a camera. Almost every dedicated camera has a dedicated two-stage shutter release button, and works almost exactly as I've described above.

Troll mode: But hey, Apple users can't even handle more than one button on their mouse, and I regularly use 5 buttons on my PC mouse.
So wait, there are going to be 5 nearly-identical buttons littering the frame of the iPhone?
I'm all for having some differentiation in the buttons. I liked the Nintendo GameCube controller, because every button was a different shape, and that helped me remember their placement and functionality.

One thing I don't like about my Pixel phone is that because the power and volume buttons are right next to each other, I often press the power button when I mean to press the volume up button (the up and down buttons share the same elongated external button)
 
I still don't get why apple is not using a camera sensor with a 1:1 ratio. With that you could hold the iphone naturally in a portrait orientation while recording a 16:9 video in landscape mode which you then could easily watch on TV/share to TV stations. I see so many parents holding the iPhone in portrait mode and always do a facepalm while I record my video in landscape.

Also Apple could record the entire picture of the 1:1 sensor and then you could chose the best orientation afterwards. Like they do with selecting the focus after you took the photo/video. Because investing the improving proccessing power into 8k video doesnt make sense to me. Better stay at 4k and implement a 1:1 sensor.
 
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How did you map this to record?

When you enter the Action Button menu within settings, choose the camera option. Under this is a small drop down where you can select which mode you want the camera to open in ;)
 
I still don't get why apple is not using a camera sensor with a 1:1 ratio. With that you could hold the iphone naturally in a portrait orientation while recording a 16:9 video in landscape mode which you then could easily watch on TV/share to TV stations. I see so many parents holding the iPhone in portrait mode and always do a facepalm while I record my video in landscape.

Also Apple could record the entire picture of the 1:1 sensor and then you could chose the best orientation afterwards. Like they do with selecting the focus after you took the photo/video. Because investing the improving proccessing power into 8k video doesnt make sense to me. Better stay at 4k and implement a 1:1 sensor.

This!

Insta360 do it with their cameras.
GoPro do it with their latest camera.
This would be ideal if the iPhone did it too! It's so handy!
 
When you enter the Action Button menu within settings, choose the camera option. Under this is a small drop down where you can select which mode you want the camera to open in ;)
There is no cinematic mode and it doesn't record automatically.

I'd like the action button to open the camera in cinematic and start recording
 


MacRumors has shared multiple details on the iPhone 16's design, including the unveiling of a new button that is planned for the devices, the Capture Button. While we've known the name and location of the button, the internal information that we've obtained does not detail what it will be used for.

iPhone-16-Side-Feature.jpg

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the Capture Button will be able to record video. In this week's Power On newsletter, Gurman says that the iPhone 16 models will include a "new dedicated button for taking video." The Capture Button's function is, of course, hinted at in the name, but this is the first time we've heard confirmation of its purpose.

As we explained in a recent look at early iPhone 16 prototypes, the Capture Button will be located on the bottom right side of the iPhone 16. It will replace the mmWave antenna on U.S. iPhone models, with the mmWave antenna to be relocated to the left side of the device below the volume and Action buttons. Non-U.S. models do not have a mmWave antenna that needs to be relocated in order to accommodate the Capture Button.

The Capture Button will be a capacitive button with haptic feedback rather than a mechanical button, and it is expected to include a force sensor that can recognize pressure. The location of the button may make it easy to trigger, but if it is activated via pressure, it could be that holding it down will launch into the camera and allow video recording to start. The different pressure levels could also open up the camera for either a photo or a video (specifically a spatial video), but that's just speculation at this point.

The Capture Button is coming to all four iPhone 16 models, and with spatial video and the Vision Pro headset, it makes sense for Apple to make video recording quicker and more accessible. The Vision Pro headset can play 3D spatial videos that can be recorded with the iPhone.

Right now, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max can record spatial video using the Wide and Ultra Wide cameras in tandem, with this functionality added in iOS 17.2. The standard iPhone 16 models will feature a new vertical lens arrangement that will allow them to capture spatial video as well, so the feature won't be limited to the Pro models in the future. Spatial video can only be viewed on the Vision Pro headset, and it is meant to make users feel immersed in their memories.

For more on what's expected for the iPhone 16 lineup, we have dedicated iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro roundups that aggregate all of the rumors we've heard to date.

Article Link: Gurman: iPhone 16's Capture Button Will Be Used for Taking Video
They should stop focusing on the stupid gimmicks and put touch ID back on the phone
 
There is no cinematic mode and it doesn't record automatically.

I'd like the action button to open the camera in cinematic and start recording

Oh no sorry I meant I have it set to just open the camera on video mode - not to actually start shooting video. Should have worded my post a little better I guess!
 
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When they run out of ideas, they make new colors and add useless features like more buttons. For those following along at home, these things are your cue to skip the generation.
On the contrary! Just like with the iMac, when they add a 7th color the product line has matured and is ready to be purchased for long-term use. If it comes in only one color like Apple Vision Pro, you can safely ignore it. Mac mini = ignore, iPad Air = buy.
 
A quicker "record video" option seems like a good thing to me. Conceptually, this is ONE step instead of up to a few to start capturing video.

But how about either:
  • Showing an info screen to teach people that shooting video with phone in landscape means future playback that fills their TV screen instead of being a tall, thin strip of video in the middle and huge black bars to the left & right? OR
  • Advance the camera capture so that one can hold the phone vertical but shoot landscape anyway... and then crop it "skinny" if that's the desired end goal by the user? If someone actually likes all of their video shot tall & skinny, default the playback that way when they are watching with phone in portrait (an "auto crop" for playback if you will).
There seems to be no amount of oral education about this topic that can move those listening to change the well-established habit of holding the phone vertical to shoot video. So, either make a little phone effort to re-educate everyone or make the phone capture landscape when camera is held portrait so that later- when the person who shot it that way is wanting it to "fill my TV screen"- one does not have to explain yet again that they must rotate their phone when capturing the video.

Does vertical skinny have a place in rendered videos? Sure, there are some applications where it works nicely. But I bet the vast majority of video capturing people would prefer landscape default if they could only know- and then recall when they want to capture new video- to rotate that phone... or have it go ahead and capture the left & right extra when they shoot in portrait so that they can see much more when they play back on any wider screen in the future.
I hate to be the "OK Boomer" guy here, but generally, people shooting video on their phone are either only ever watching it on the phone or sharing it to other phones (reels or messaging). Vertical videos on youTube fill the screen when viewed on a phone, so no problem.

When shooting real people in real locations, vertical video actually makes total sense, people tend to be taller than they are wide. To me the problem is more when vertical videos are shown on the news and then CNN adds those blurry mirrored letterboxes to fill out the 16:9 format, just pan and scan, keep black letterboxes, show the presenter while the video is playing, anything but those awful video extensions.
 
Is the current state for starting a video so cumbersome that they need to build a new physical button to make it easier? I can understand the idea of making two assignable quick-action buttons, but a dedicated video button seems a bit strange.
It's so they can make it easier for you to record spatial videos for a device you didn't know you wanted which costs 3.5K usd.
 
Why not just leave it to the user to have the Action Button be used as a Capture Button? Seems like a waste of circuits and the addition of an extra button for something that probably won't be used heavily by the average user.
 
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For those of us planning to buy an Apple Vision Pro at launch this is a wonderful feature and will likely get me to upgrade from my 15 Pro Max.
 
Don’t find this idea appealing at all. Those that really need a dedicated video capture button could just hardcode the Action Button for this. Apple knows that. I doubt they would force a stupid buttton upon us, right where you hold the phone.

Still early days, might be that someone misinterpreted some leaked info. Similar to how the mmWave antenna was originally thought to be for magnetic charging or a mini Apple Pencil… Or how the M3 13” MacBook Air was going to be released this year, and the 15” next year… They don’t always get it right early on.
 


Missed opportunity! I've been predicting to my less-geeky friends that a new iPhone button will automatically engage a new SiriGPT as your digital assistant to do everything and respond to all queries. Instead, I guess we'll all keep using others' AI tools — and increasingly so. A video capture button -- really?!
 
Seems like a good deal of re-engineering to accomplish very little and probably very very low on anyone's Apple iPhone want list.
Apple should learn from Sony here.

2 stage shutter button:
Light press to enable camera for auto focus, secondary harder press thereafter the fist to take a photo.
Alternatively press firmly and deeply to activate video recording with auto focus already enabled. I recall doing that years ago on my Sony Xperia 5.
 
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