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iPhone 16 Capture Button Will Respond to Touch and Pressure for Zooming and Focusing

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Apple is planning to add a new "Capture Button" to the iPhone 16 models, as we first reported back in September. When the news broke about the extra button, we didn't initially know what it was for, but the name gave us some hints and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed in December that it would be used for taking video.

iPhone-16-Pro-Mock-Header-Updated.jpg

The Information has now shared a few new details on the function of the Capture Button, including some of the gestures that it will support. The site says that the button is mechanical rather than capacitive, but it will respond to pressure and touch.

iPhone users will be able to zoom in and out by swiping left and right on the button, focus with a light press, and activate a recording with a more forceful press.

Apple plans to put the Capture Button on the right side of the iPhone, located below the Power button and in an ideal spot for finger access when the iPhone is held in a horizontal orientation. At the current time, this is the location of the mmWave antenna in the United States, but the antenna will move to the left side of the device with the addition of the extra button.

According to The Information, Apple believes the new button will be a major selling point for the iPhone 16 lineup, and it is being introduced to further push the iPhone as a camera alternative for shooting horizontal video.

Apple has not yet finalized the design of the iPhone 16, so the function and design of the button could change in the future.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Capture Button Will Respond to Touch and Pressure for Zooming and Focusing
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/01/18/iphone-16-capture-button-touch-pressure/
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Is this just the iPhone 16 Pro, or will it trickle down to the standard one and the SE? Will they retrofit it to the obsolete iPhone 15?
 
Alpha God Vonn said:
Really??
Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave as we speak. Smh we need a redesign iPhone or somthing better. Your excited over a button?? lol I’m still going to get it but me & you are excited over a button & larger screen lol
Click to expand...
No, I was making a pun. I’ll be keeping my iPhone 13 mini as long as possible. And I dislike capacitive buttons.
 
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As a photographer… this seems maybe kinda sorta useful.

As an iPhone user… it’s just one more button for me to accidentally hit when i mean to take a screenshot or change the volume. I really don’t think we need more buttons.
 
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McWetty said:
As an iPhone user… it’s just one more button for me to accidentally hit when i mean to take a screenshot or change the volume. I really don’t think we need more buttons.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and it’ll be confusing to not use the Capture button for taking a screen capture. ;)

Not sure why they don’t call it the Camera button, that would be more readily understandable.
 
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This actually seems like a good idea now that we have a better idea of what it’s for. I see people struggle with the software controls for Photos all the time and the volume button as the capture button just leads to lots of unintended shots.

With a button that handles zoom Apple can keep people in the native focal lengths of the lenses and a manual focus button would eliminate a lot of screen poking when shooting as well.

So while I was skeptical at first now I’m curious. There’s a problem to solve here (clumsy interface that leads to bad shots) and it appears Apple is trying to solve it.
 
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allenvanhellen said:
If you could swipe left and right to zoom in and out, why wouldn’t these also be the volume buttons? You would never perform those functions in the same moment.
The action button being able to immediately launch the camera makes sense for pushing the iPhone as a camera replacement.
Click to expand...

Dual purpose volume buttons are a pain when shooting video. You want dedicated volume controls for that.
 
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With the large sizes of current phones, holding the phone frame with four fingertips is a very awkward way to frame your photos. I learned a more stable way to grip the phone from Jared Polin (froknowsphoto) where you firmly grip the phone back with the palm, and the phone sits stable on the “shelf” created by the hollow of your palm. This will make using that shutter button require some gymnastics.

Full-size cameras are very ergonomic where such half-press shutter buttons fall exactly under your index finger. This proposed button is awkward no matter where they place it.
 
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Samsung and Google are releasing "killer app"-level AI enhancements to search, translation, transcription, and note summarization to their Galaxy and Pixel phones. If Apple's next move is a button, they will be forgotten and left behind.
 
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I don't understand all the hate this feature is getting. Photography is one of the primary reasons people upgrade and buy the most expensive smartphones, but one extra button to make it a better camera means Apple has lost their way?
No camera company would release a camera without a dedicated 2-stage shutter button. Why shouldn't the iPhone have one?
 
Last edited:
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drzen said:
With the large sizes of current phones, holding the phone frame with four fingertips is a very awkward way to frame your photos. I learned a more stable way to grip the phone from Jared Polin (froknowsphoto) where you firmly grip the phone back with the palm, and the phone sits stable on the “shelf” created by the hollow of your palm. This will make using that shutter button require some gymnastics.

Full-size cameras are very ergonomic where such half-press shutter buttons fall exactly under your index finger. This proposed button is awkward no matter where they place it.
Click to expand...

But I do think it has the potential to make it easier to shoot video. No button is going to he ideal on a device who’s goal is a featureless slab with rounded corners.
 
257Loner said:
Samsung and Google are releasing "killer app"-level AI enhancements to search, translation, transcription, and note summarization to their Galaxy and Pixel phones. If Apple's next move is a button, they will be forgotten and left behind.
Click to expand...

Well, obviously this isn’t an all or nothing situation. We already know that Apple is scrambling to make Siri an actual AI so that will (we hope) negate Samsung’s lead in that area. Regardless, there’s no way in hell that Apple goes “iPhone 16. It has a new button. That’s it.”
 
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Jensend said:
I don't understand all the hate this feature is getting. Photography is one of the primary reasons people people upgrade and buy the most expensive smartphones, but one extra button to make it a better camera means Apple has lost their way?
No camera company would release a camera without a dedicated 2-stage shutter button. Why shouldn't the iPhone have one?
Click to expand...
Because most of the people who comment on these articles have a fundamental misunderstanding of Apple's brand identity, goals, and how the iphone fits into their larger ecosystem. To them, all Apple is trying to do is compete feature-for-feature with Samsung and Google and failing pathetically.
 
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Jensend said:
I don't understand all the hate this feature is getting. Photography is one of the primary reasons people upgrade and buy the most expensive smartphones, but one extra button to make it a better camera means Apple has lost their way?
No camera company would release a camera without a dedicated 2-stage shutter button. Why shouldn't the iPhone have one?
Click to expand...

Right? There couldn’t be a more obvious point. iPhones (probably) get used as cameras (still and video) more than they get used as phones. The primary reason for buying one for the last few years is the camera system. People don’t buy dedicated cameras anymore unless they’re serious shooters. So now we have a couple generations of people who have never used a camera with a dedicated capture button and have no idea what they’re missing.
 
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