It would be crazy if Apple added this feature to the iPhone 16

Just as the iPhone 15 inherited the iPhone 14 Pro’s Dynamic Island, iPhone 16 may get one of the iPhone 15 Pro’s standout features: the Action button. That’s according to Bloombergs often accurate Mark Gurman.

The Action button is exactly what it sounds like: a shortcut that can be used to trigger certain tasks. Apple presents you with several tweaks in the iPhone’s Settings menu. Such options include muting your phone, opening the camera, turning on the flashlight, activating the Magnifier, translating phrases, recording a voice memo, using an Accessibility feature, or enabling Do Not Disturb (or another “Focus” mode of your choosing).

Read more: Apple’s ‘Glowtime’ iPhone 16 event: What to expect and how to watch

As I wrote, you can do a lot more with the Action button, like order a coffee from Dunkin’ or Starbucks, using Apple’s Shortcuts app.

Apple doesn’t add new buttons to the iPhone all that often, so the expansion of the Action button to the iPhone 16 would be a big thing. It would make the iPhone experience more consistent across the board, while making it easier to multitask and jump between apps.

Why the Action Button Belongs on All iPhones

The main reason the Action button should come to the iPhone 16 is simple: it’s genuinely useful. You can program it to do almost anything you want in the iPhone’s Shortcuts app, which opens up a lot of possibilities.

Beyond its usefulness, it also brings a level of personalization never before seen on iPhone. Every button on the iPhone is built for a specific purpose: adjust the volume, power off or lock your iPhone, activate Siri, navigate back to the home screen, unlock your phone, or authorize an Apple Pay purchase.

Apple leaves the purpose of the Action button up to the user, within reason. Its role really depends on what you do most often on your phone. Besides ordering my morning coffee, I’ve used the Action button as a shortcut to call my husband, FaceTime my sister, launch ChatGPT’s voice mode, and start a timer.

That level of personalization is important because the iPhone lacks the multitasking capabilities found on Android devices. Aside from a Picture in Picture feature for using apps while watching a YouTube video or making a FaceTime call, there’s no way to have more than one app open on the screen at once, like you can on Android or the iPad. It’s also unclear whether Apple will ever release a foldable iPhone with a larger internal display for running more apps, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold.

The arrival of the Action button on the standard iPhone, combined with the Dynamic Island (which trickled down to the non-Pro iPhone in 2023), could make it easier to get things done without having to tap and swipe or switch between apps as often.

Bringing the Action button to the regular iPhone would also create a more consistent iPhone experience across Apple’s lineup. One of the advantages the iPhone has over Android is that the software and hardware functionality is largely the same whether you’re using an iPhone from five years ago or one from a year ago.

Newer models have longer battery lives, more advanced cameras, higher-quality displays, and improved designs compared to iPhones from years past. The software and the way you interact with an iPhone remains largely the same from year to year, with the exception of 2017, when Apple removed the Home button with the iPhone X. Making the Action button the standard across all iPhone models would further standardize the iPhone experience.

The iPhone 16 isn’t expected to change much

Part of the reason the Action button is shaping up to be the most significant addition to the iPhone 16 is because it’s largely expected to be a modest upgrade over the iPhone 15. The iPhone 16 may get a new processor, likely called the A18 chip, according to analyst Jeff Pu, who has MacRumors reported.

The other notable iPhone 16 rumors that have surfaced so far appear to be specific to the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max. For example, Bloomberg reports that there will be a new button for recording video, though it’s unclear if it will appear on all iPhone 16 models. The Pro versions will also get larger screens, according to Bloomberg and MacRumorswhile the regular, smaller Pro is also expected to get the tetraprism telephoto lens from the iPhone 15 Pro Max, analysts said. Ming Chi Kuo.

Apple appears to be heavily focused on software when it comes to iPhone upgrades this year. At its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, it announced Apple Intelligence, a suite of new AI-powered features coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac. The suite of features includes an upgraded version of Siri that can understand personal context and take actions within apps, tools for rewriting and proofreading emails, and the ability to generate images and emojis, among other additions.

With that in mind, the rumored iPhone 16 Action button seems to be the most exciting new hardware addition yet for those who don’t want to spend too much money on the Pro. From the telephoto camera to the titanium design, the always-on display and the extra 1TB of storage option, there’s already plenty that sets the iPhone Pro apart from the regular iPhone. The Action button has proven its worth and now earns a spot on all future iPhones.