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what about moving the camera side button to the other side? I always find awkward the button on the left, when I need to hold it with one hand, I can't push the button with my fingers. I have to use the button inside the camera.. otherwise I'll drop the phone
 
As many buttons as possible to reduce the amount of expensive titanium. Think how much they'll save over millions of devices!
 
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Go straight across with the camera bump!! So the phone sits flatter when it’s laying dow and it won’t wobble when you touch the screen..
 
“we’re running out of features to add to the new iPhones, at least until technology catches up!”

— “LET’S ADD ONE MORE BUTTON EVERY YEAR!!!!”
 
“One more thing”…? Yuck. From now on the Apple keynotes highlight will be “One more button”.
 
I might be in the minority but I find the current location of the power button dumb and prone to mis-presses especially if you're using the opposite side for leverage to actuate the volume buttons.
I'm the same. Maybe you'll be able to repurpose the new button to be the power button :)
 
I love the 24 MP Live Photos!
I agree the lighter weight and general feel is improved.

I've never had a chance to try the camera properly yet - but I always enjoy the improvements each year for sure - I think the improvements to night pictures have been the most incredible things in the past few years.

I'll be the first to admit that going phone to phone is only incremental and it's just habit for me to do every year now and a tradition I couldn't possibly break (also after a year I do find I feel like a need a refresh, it's not the same for the watch or Macs).
 
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I hope it's for taking a picture. For taking a picture one-handed I've never done well using the on-screen button, whereas using the volume buttons it can be easy to "squeeze" the phone and end up turning it off instead. Not to mention fingers ending up in front of the lenses more often than not, particularly on the wide-angle camera.

The opposite-side positioning of volume and power buttons has been one of the longest-running UI fails Apple has done, perhaps second only to the one-button mouse. I still miss my Lumia from 2013 which avoided this problem with more ergonomic offset positioning of the buttons.
 
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I've never had a chance to try the camera properly yet - but I always enjoy the improvements each year for sure - I think the improvements to night pictures have been the most incredible things in the past few years.

I'll be the first to admit that going phone to phone is only incremental and it's just habit for me to do every year now and a tradition I couldn't possibly break (also after a year I do find I feel like a need a refresh, it's not the same for the watch or Macs).
I’m the same way. I don’t live large in general, but I do really look forward to a new iPhone every year and feel fortunate to be able to do it.
 
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Terrible place for a button. That's exactly where most people hold their phone. I get it though, if you orient your phone like a camera so that the lens is to the left and upper corner, that puts the capture button right where it would be on a camera. But used as a phone, that's at best an annoying bump, and at worst accidentally triggered.

And seriously macrumors, we don't know what it's purpose is? It's position and name tell you exactly what it's for, capturing photos. You might be able to use it as a second action button too, but given the location, it would make most sense if it is deactivated in portrait mode, or when the camera isn't active. Hopefully it'll be a very smooth and subtle bump.

In terms of button placement - isn’t that where your index finger naturally rests taking a picture in landscape mode? Your left fingers can’t be anywhere near because they interfere with the lenses. So yes as you said that has to be the reason.


Four modules like Samsung would make the dedicated button a necessity. And that would make it a primary upgrade item.
 
lol, “unsure of what the button is used for”. Umm it’s pretty simple. It’s clearly a button to activate the camera, you know, like how all cameras work :)
 
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It's clear as day Apple have failed at making the power and volume buttons capacitive and this is ANOTHER stop gap like the action button.

I don't need a camera button but if this means they'll finally let us change the Lock Screen buttons then great.
 


The iPhone 16 series is expected to gain an additional capacitive button, known internally as the "Capture Button." Codenamed "Project Nova," the button is likely to be one of the main selling points of the iPhone 16 lineup, assuming it gets past the initial testing phase. The Capture Button is located on the same side as the Power button, only positioned slightly lower - where the mmWave cutout can be found on more recent iPhone models. The mmWave cutout has been moved to the opposite side, located under the volume buttons. It is currently unknown what the new capacitive button will be used for.

iPhone-16-Side-Feature.jpg

The Capture Button is expected to be a capacitive button rather than a standard mechanical one. Capacitive buttons, unlike mechanical buttons, do not move when pressed down. Instead, the button detects pressure and touch, providing haptic feedback through the use of haptic engines. The buttons are expected to work similarly to the Home Button on the iPhone SE, which mimics the press of a physical button through the built-in Taptic Engine. According to our sources, the capacitive buttons will feature force sensor functionality. Force sensors detect applied force, and convert the magnitude of force into electrical signals.

Early in the development of the iPhone 15 Pro, Apple experimented with capacitive buttons on the iPhone in the form of the since-canceled Bongo project. The Bongo module, unlike the Capture Button, consisted of capacitive Power and Volume buttons, and didn’t bring any additional buttons into the mix. Based on what we’ve heard from our sources, the Bongo module was canceled during the EVT stage of development, after unsatisfactory test results and a significant number of hardware issues. The cancelation left Apple engineers with ample room to reimagine the capacitive buttons for the iPhone 16 series, with an entirely new twist this time around.

Unlike the Bongo project, the Capture Button is set to make its debut across the entire iPhone 16 lineup, including the base model iPhone 16 and 16 Plus. It is worth noting, though, that Apple also created a hardware configuration without the Capture Button button, possibly as a fallback variant in the event of continued hardware failure rates. The Capture Button has appeared on both eSIM-only units and devices with support for physical SIM card slots.

iPhone-16-Side-2-Feature.jpg

Along with the new Capture Button, the iPhone 16 lineup is expected to gain a capacitive Action Button. Known as "Project Atlas," the haptic Action Button uses a design similar to the Capture Button, using strain gauges and reluctance motor to provide the necessary haptic feedback.

In addition to the Capture Button and upgraded Action Button, the base model iPhone 16 is expected to feature a redesigned camera bump, with vertical camera arrangement akin to the iPhone 12. The Pro models are also set to feature an increase in screen size, from 6.1" and 6.7" to 6.3" and 6.9", respectively.

It is important to consider that the information presented here is pre-production information. The iPhone 16 lineup is still in the early stages of development, and the design has not been finalized. Because of this, there is always a chance that we may not see the Capture Button on the final product.

For more details on what to expect, check out our rumor roundup page for iPhone 16.


Article Link: iPhone 16 to Include an Additional Capacitive 'Capture' Button
I hope this is not true. Capacitive buttons have no place on phones. For most people, phones need cases. Cases will have to have cutouts for the button. Depending on the case type, that could be difficult to achieve without it looking ridiculous. Also, people wear gloves. We don’t need a button that won’t work with gloves. If they want to add another button, that’s fine. Just don’t make it capacitive.
 
I would like to have the same buttons on every side. I’m left handed, and no iPhone is diesigned for left handed persons, although a great part of the humans are left handed. By having the same buttons on every side, you can choose als left of right handed. It you can also redefine the other keys. That’s evolution, no revolution. Simple and good.
I'd rather have the symmetrical set of buttons along one side, you could hold it either way and the buttons would flip (need to figure out the front facing camera), but I always push the power button when trying to turn up the volume when in landscape. Adding more buttons across from each other would just cause more accidentally button pressing when trying to squeeze buttons.

Looking from the side
[ (up) (down) (action) (power) ]
Then flip it for left hand and screen flips and button alignment flips.
 
hahahaha now apple believes buttons are selling points, OMG! prepare for the come back of buttons!! Steve & Co. will cry!
 
I hope this is not true. Capacitive buttons have no place on phones. For most people, phones need cases. Cases will have to have cutouts for the button. Depending on the case type, that could be difficult to achieve without it looking ridiculous. Also, people wear gloves. We don’t need a button that won’t work with gloves. If they want to add another button, that’s fine. Just don’t make it capacitive.
Didn't Apple solved the problem with people wearing gloves on their capacitive touch ID back then? Oh yeah it's called removing gloves before pressing the button.
 
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