iPhone 16 Pro Tim Cook is going to add buttons until he's invented the TI-83

[swingerofbirch]

I worked at AppleCare in the 2000s, and in our training they showed us a picture of the Apple TV Remote next to a picture of what I think was the Google TV remote (I don't remember the exact name of Google's TV product) that had a full QWERTY keyboard.

And they said in a very self-satisfied way that that picture showed the difference between Apple and Google. Apple only needed a very sleek remote with a couple of unmarked buttons, while Google needed an unwieldy keyboard (setting aside that having to hunt and peck on an on-TV keyboard with the Apple Remote isn't exactly pleasant).

I have an iPhone (13 mini) and an Android (Samsung Galaxy A54), and one thing I like more about the A54 is that I can double-click the sleep/wake button to open the camera. If I double-click it again it flips from back to front camera. It has the exact same number of buttons as my iPhone but works better for quickly opening the camera. While there is a faster way, I often on the iPhone find myself locking it, then unlocking it, then swiping from the right to open the camera.

Apple has mapped double-clicking to Apple Pay and not let you change it for years, which is annoying. But they have had triple-click under Accessibility options, but annoyingly they don't let you open the camera with that. They have back tap which can open the camera, but it works very unreliably.

So then last year they introduced the Action Button, and one of the things it could do was open the camera. And now they have the Camera button that also opens the camera.

It all seems like the opposite of the original idea of the iPhone which was a slab of glass that could become anything. Remembering the position and number of clicks for 3 buttons seems like it's a bit inelegant...a bit like that Google QWERTY remote they made fun of some years ago.

I'd be happy if I could just map double-clicking the sleep/wake button to the camera rather than Apple Pay, which I have not once used.

Apple was for many years criticized for not being pragmatic and going for form over function, but I think they're going in a direction with these buttons that is neither form nor function. Form could be like an all glass slab; function could be like a QWERTY keyboard. This is really neither. It's overly complex with no overarching idea connecting the buttons and giving an intuitiveness to why they are where they are, and why each has the function (or range of possible functions) that it does. Like you could now have the Action Button, the Camera Button, and Back Tap all set to open the Camera. It seems haphazard and idiosyncratic.

 

[hch720]

I am still trying to figure out why the action button cannot double, triple, and long press for different actions. What a waste

 

[sunapple]

I agree the extra buttons do not align with Apple's previous philosophies. Thinking of the G4 Cube, ATV remote in the keynote, various Macs with power buttons out of sight, iPod, etc.

I will say the camera button seems to have nicely integrated (and 3rd party compatible!) features, it's at least a lot more interesting than the action button and I'm surprised it isn't exclusive to the Pros. But at the same time, both feel mostly like a marketing/sales driven decision.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I do not think it is so bad. Using my camera on my phone very often, I appreciate this new feature.

Humans are known to adapt.

 

[D_Apple]

Clever title and valid points. I miss my Ti-83.

 

[supergt]

I am still trying to figure out why the action button cannot double, triple, and long press for different actions. What a waste

I’ve been able to map multiple different actions on my jailbroken devices the last half decade. Apple doesn’t trust users to properly use their devices.

 

[Treborray]

I never even used the apple button the day the Apple Watch Ultra released. it's still so limited

 

[shr631]

it seems like what we need is one button that we can set to perform whatever action we need. i wouldn’t want to be tied down though so it would be cool to have a second button so there’s one on each side. I guess we have to also consider that people hold phones in landscape mode so one more for each landscape orientation, so two more. 4 more buttons and boom that’s it, minimal and functional! though, thinking it over, personally i have about 5-10 typical things i do and if i could program a button to do one or two things i’d be happier’n a pig in slop. don’t worry, of course we’d need a set of buttons for each side and orientation, it’s just good design. so i believe we could be good with another 20-40 additional buttons. keeps things simple and efficient. like SJ would’ve wanted.