After six months with my iPhone 16 Pro, I am still not convinced by the action button
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Last year, I finally upgraded from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 16 ProAnd to say that it was a big step, an understatement would be. From the rapid performance and the improved camera system to the Dynamic island and super smooth 120Hz display, I have found a lot to love the Best iPhone Money can buy in 2025.
Since getting one iPhone 16 ProOne thing I really love is, is Camera. With this built-in tool I can quickly open the camera app when the time is essential, and I can even do it while I get my phone out of my pocket. It is not necessary to look at the display or mess with operating elements on the screen is just a fast, spicy way to start photographing.
Yet there is a new function in my iPhone 16 Pro that I really did not take over: the Action button. Simply put, I have never found a fascinating use case for it.
Part of my indifference for the action button means how little time it can save. Many of the pre -defined options that Apple proposes – such as activating the flashlight and setting Shazam – are simple enough for me to reach in other ways, either via the lock screen or in the control center.
Likewise I have my Focus modes To start automatically, so I never really have to do this manually using the action button. I don’t use Visual Intelligence Or speech memos enough to guarantee them instead. And I have found nothing in Apple’s proposed list of controls, shortcuts or accessibility functions that I wanted to add to the button.
In the end I spent most of my time with the action button set as a stupid switch, and that is exactly what the function has replaced on my old one iPhone 12 Pro.
Quick couplings to success
Part of the problem is that the thing I would like to use the action button for is currently incredibly awkward (or downright impossible).
For me it would be great to use the link mounted on the side for contextual shortcuts-where, at a certain time of the day or a specified location, the action button does one, and at a different time or location, does something else. I have not found any way to do that.
And although there are ways to run multiple shortcuts when you press the button, setting it is a committed, complex process. I would like to see a native option to do this from Apple, but that does not seem to appear, unless the company has something in store for the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) In June.
Of course, maybe this is an “I” problem my colleagues John-Anthony and Axel have finally found excellent use for the action button with regard to the action button with artificial intelligence And language translation. But none of their arrangements really appeals to me and my lifestyle. At the moment I am still looking for something to change ideas.
Still search
Perhaps all that could convince me of the action button, such as camera control, is something that is designed to be used quickly. Yet it will add to the action button only a second or two compared to opening Shazam from the control center. Yes, identifying a song can be time sensitive, but not as much as taking a photo for the moment that is gone.
At the end of the day I am fine with the action button and my minimal use of it. After all, it does not stand in the way or slows down my daily life. I usually just forget that it is there.
But it would be great to find a really convincing reason to use it that a revolution can bring about how I use my iPhone 16 Pro. If someone can introduce one to me, I am all ears.
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