iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Options Potentially Revealed in iOS 17 Code: Flashlight, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, and More

[mrat93]

i stopped jailbreaking once it became clear that Activator was never going to be updated to work with current iOS... it was really the main reason I jailbroke at all.

I think a lot of the demand for jailbreaking died as Apple added the best features over the years, as well as the pressure to keep your software current for security purposes and feature updates.

Major features that stand out which Apple added:

• SBSettings was killed by Control Center.
• Quick replies for Messages (iRealSMS and one other)
• Lock screen customization (weather lock screen and widgets)
• Better notifications
• PiP video

 

[Populus]

Assuming 90% of us will use it to launch the camera. It's one of my favorite Samsung features coming to iOS.

I will use it for camera, yes, but also as a mute switch and activating voice note recording. Hopefully I’ll be able to use JustPressRecord instead of the default iOS recording app…

 

[liberte1776]

How about push-to-talk ala Nextel/iDEN?!

Pretty dumb to have the Apple Watch have it but not iPhones/iPads & other ecosystem devices, it could act like an intercom also.

 

[Saturn1217]

I personally think this is brilliant. You can make it pretty simple (a single press to toggle silent with some nice new indicator in the dynamic island so users are aware of current state - with AOD this can be visible even when the phone is off).

And for power users, they have the ability to customize multiple actions for single, double and long-press. Accessing a button is much easier and faster than ANY onscreen shortcut even one on the lockscreen because you have the ability to do it without looking at your phone. For things like opening the camera or turning on the flashlight it will be a game changer.

And ALSO this allows for the ability to turn the phone on silent for a limited amount of time! For users that only use silent in certain situations (like the movie theater - this just happened to me) it is ridiculously easy to forget to turn your phone back to full sound and not realize why there is a change in behavior for like a day. I literally just realized now (Wednesday) that my phone has been on silent since Sunday when I went to see a movie (Barbie in case you're wondering). I don't want my phone on silent all the time.

This is a great idea. I understand change is hard, but this is objectively better for the vast majority of users.

 

[Born Again]

Can’t wait for the accident action button press threads.

Steve Jobs will have to come back from the dead to tell us we are holding it wrong.

 

[dampfnudel]

I have a feeling most people won’t use it, at least not regularly.

 

[LlamaLarry]

I am on Silent approaching 100% of the time and, honestly, after 16 years I still don't know by touch which position is On vs Off, so I either look (exceedingly rarely) or toggle it and read the screen (most of the time). The people that need to "I feel in my pocket to make sure it is on silent" confuse me with their both apparently super powers and their need to hide the fact that they have a phone they need to silent.

 

[kkee]

Can you remove the camera and flashlight button on the lockscreen then? We really don’t need 100 ways to open them

But bring them back when you set the button to function other than flashlight or lockscreen. You can only have 1 at a time. I bet would say, oh no, that's a messy interface, keep them on for consistency sake.

 

[cocoua]

16 years waiting ”action button” I’m glad the technolgy is mature enough to develop such a miraculous contraption…

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 17 to developers yesterday, and among the changes in the latest beta are some new code snippets that potentially hint at functionality for the rumored Action button on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The Action button, which could be similar to the Apple Watch Ultra's Action button but with more phone-focused options, is expected to be a new physical button on the next-generation Pro iPhone models that replaces the Ring/Silent switch. The Action button would allow users to quickly access various functions and settings without necessarily unlocking the device or navigating to an app.

According to the code found in iOS 17 beta 4, the Action button could have nine different options that users can customize and assign to different actions. While the code only lists feature names related to the Action button, we can infer what most of them will be able to do:

• Accessibility: This option would presumably let users access various accessibility features, such as VoiceOver, Zoom, AssistiveTouch, and more.
• Shortcuts: As on the Apple Watch Ultra, this option would let users run any shortcut they have created or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
• Silent Mode: Similar to how the switch works on current iPhone models, this option would let users toggle silent mode on or off, which would mute or unmute the ringer and alerts.
• Camera: This option would likely let users launch the Camera app and/or take a photo or video with a single press of the Action button.
• Flashlight: This option would let users turn on or off the flashlight on the back of the device.
  Focus: This option should let users activate or deactivate a Focus mode.
• Magnifier: This option would presumably let users activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
• Translate: This option could let users launch the Translate app and start a conversation or text translation with a single press of the Action button.
• Voice Memos: This option would let users start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.

Apple has not yet unveiled the iPhone 15 Pro, but an announcement and launch are expected in the usual September timeframe. If the rumors are correct, the Action button could be one of the key new features that makes the iPhone 15 Pro stand out from its predecessors.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Options Potentially Revealed in iOS 17 Code: Flashlight, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, and More

Camera ergonomics dramatically suck on smartphones. Perhaps a new physical button could help a little, but we will not know until physically using said new physical button.

 

[Populus]

I am on Silent approaching 100% of the time and, honestly, after 16 years I still don't know by touch which position is On vs Off, so I either look (exceedingly rarely) or toggle it and read the screen (most of the time). The people that need to "I feel in my pocket to make sure it is on silent" confuse me with their both apparently super powers and their need to hide the fact that they have a phone they need to silent.

While I understand what you mean, there's a quick way to know wether your iPhone is in silent mode or not, no super powers needed. Just be mindful that if the switch is pushed towards the back of the phone (with the camera bump), the device is muted. If you touch it and you feel the switch is pushed towards the screen (with a home button on older iPhones), then it is unmuted. It requires some time to get used to it, and think carefully about it the first times, but it is possible to switch it, or just check it, without taking the phone out of the pocket.

Also I always keep my phone with the screen facing towards my thigh (don't ask me why, there isn't a reason) when I carry it on my pocket. That makes it easier.

 

[Joosst]

I loved putting my phone on silent mode blindly in my pocket in the cinema or something.

Also you can see if it’s on silent without turning on the screen. With iPhone 15 we probably need yet another menu bar icon to show when your phone is muted.

So more UI clutter and less physical interaction yet again. (But I also still think the home button should have never left.)

The simple nature of it was great. It's something I can easily explain to my parents. This makes it more complex yet again. (I mean, try to explain something like focus modes to anyone who’s not a total nerd).

 

[4odomi]

Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 17 to developers yesterday, and among the changes in the latest beta are some new code snippets that potentially hint at functionality for the rumored Action button on the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.

The Action button, which could be similar to the Apple Watch Ultra's Action button but with more phone-focused options, is expected to be a new physical button on the next-generation Pro iPhone models that replaces the Ring/Silent switch. The Action button would allow users to quickly access various functions and settings without necessarily unlocking the device or navigating to an app.

According to the code found in iOS 17 beta 4, the Action button could have nine different options that users can customize and assign to different actions. While the code only lists feature names related to the Action button, we can infer what most of them will be able to do:

• Accessibility: This option would presumably let users access various accessibility features, such as VoiceOver, Zoom, AssistiveTouch, and more.
• Shortcuts: As on the Apple Watch Ultra, this option would let users run any shortcut they have created or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
• Silent Mode: Similar to how the switch works on current iPhone models, this option would let users toggle silent mode on or off, which would mute or unmute the ringer and alerts.
• Camera: This option would likely let users launch the Camera app and/or take a photo or video with a single press of the Action button.
• Flashlight: This option would let users turn on or off the flashlight on the back of the device.
  Focus: This option should let users activate or deactivate a Focus mode.
• Magnifier: This option would presumably let users activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
• Translate: This option could let users launch the Translate app and start a conversation or text translation with a single press of the Action button.
• Voice Memos: This option would let users start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.

Apple has not yet unveiled the iPhone 15 Pro, but an announcement and launch are expected in the usual September timeframe. If the rumors are correct, the Action button could be one of the key new features that makes the iPhone 15 Pro stand out from its predecessors.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro Action Button Options Potentially Revealed in iOS 17 Code: Flashlight, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, and More

I personally think it's a very useful and welcome feature, frankly I'm surprised anyone would be anti this upgrade, if you don't want to use the additional features, just don't.....simple

 

[Muzzakus]

Adding buttons instead of reducing them? Steve rolling in his grave

 

[Rob07003]

Just let us add virtual shortcut buttons to the lock screen for these things 🧐

 

[TVreporter]

I’ll be coming from an 8-plus - can they just use the action button as the new home button for us few who love it!

 

[Aston441]

What’s old is old again.

 

[AppleDumplings]

Can it be orange on a special model? Pretty please? 🥺

 

[furou]

PLEASE APPLE. Even the ability to not edit the lock screen from the lock screen... I just want a lock screen where I can't accidentally push any buttons or change anything,... I just want slide to unlock and that's it

It used to work so great. Now, multiple times a day, I either accidentally turn on the flashlight, click to open the camera, swipe and open the camera, swipe down and open spotlight search, or tap somewhere on the screen for too long and open the awful wallpaper picker UI. All of it isn’t intentional and happens by just holding the iPhone or when taking it out of my pocket or in.

 

[svish]

Using it for silent mode will be a good option

 

[PowerMacBook]

In the beginning some developers were punished by Apple as they used the volume buttons for different purposes than volume adjustment: I remember one app used it to click the camera!
Obviously that was a no go! Only Apple themselves could come with such a brilliant idea...

Many years later....

 

[Reeneman]

Best feature ever. This will (once again) change everything.
Ip15 is preordered! Thanks Apple <3

 

[zapmymac]

Just let me remove the flashlight from the lock screen Dammit. I turn the damn thing on at least once a day and them can’t get it to turn off.

 

[redbeard331]

If this gets rid of the slide over camera gesture I’m all for it, that’s got to be the worst thing ever on iOS. The buttons at least require a long press, when you pull your phone out of your pocket, the slightest swipe on the screen seems to open the camera and always at the worst times.

Has anyone thought that maybe it’ll still be a mute switch like we have now, except it’ll be possible to program custom functions invoked by a firm squeeze so it has no effect on the beloved function of the switch? And possibly only work with the switch being unmuted? That way if you’re muted there’d be no accidentally turning on the flashlight, taking a pic, or whatever you have it set to. So sort of a 3 way switch, but it’s locked when muted.

 

[SilvioInfante]

The best part about this, which so many seem to overlook, is that this makes mute/unmute into a software control. That means it can finally be a part of Focus modes! With Focus modes, you won't need to think about mute or be toggling at all. Just add mute/unmute to your Focus modes that I'm sure you already have scheduled throughout the day, and its done. You never need to manually toggle it again. Going into a meeting or a theater? Well when you hit Do Not Disturb Focus Mode, which I'm sure you already do, it will mute the ringer too.