Visual intelligence and more: The iPhone 16’s camera control is also a secret action button
It’s a big deal that Apple added a new physical button to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. The Camera Control opens the Camera app, takes photos like a traditional shutter release, and provides quick access to settings like zoom and exposure compensation.
But that is not the case everything can do this hard-to-miss check. In fact, Apple is counting on this to be a staple Apple Intelligence – a way to retrieve information about anything you point the camera at using the Visual Intelligence feature.
It can also perform two other tasks normally performed by the Action buttonmaking it essentially a second action button.
Check this out: See the iPhone 16’s new visual intelligence in action
Almost here: the Visual Intelligence button
In addition to photography, the Camera Control button will be used most prominently for Visual Intelligence, a feature that will use Apple Intelligence to identify information that is in front of the camera – in Apple’s demos this includes getting details about a restaurant, naming a dog breed and getting study tools through ChatGPT. Visual Intelligence is currently available in the Public beta of iOS 18.2 And beta for developersand the full release could arrive already in December.
How to Use Apple Intelligence to Identify a Dog Breed.
You press and hold the Camera Control button to activate the visual intelligence, then press the button again to display information about what’s in the frame. Apple says visual intelligence is coming later this year.
Okay, Visual Intelligence sounds like it will be cool when it arrives, but what can you do now? Two features that use the camera, but are not photo apps, are available for quick access via the Camera Control button. You could map them to the action button, but if it’s busy with something else (like the flashlight or some other applications), you can effectively turn the camera control into a second action button.
For now, you can get an enlarged view
There are times when I have admired Sherlock Holmes because he always had a magnifying glass with him – at least that is the popular image of the detective. When I need to read a serial number or even small letters on a menu in a dimly lit restaurant, I grab my iPhone, open Control Center, and turn on the magnifying glass. This not only allows you to digitally zoom in on something, you can also turn on the flashlight to see even better.
But right now, that’s a multi-step process: unlocking the phone, swiping down to open Control Center, and tapping the Magnifier button – which might not even be there, requiring more steps to add. to add.
Instead, go directly to the magnifying glass using the camera controls: Go To Settings > Camera > Camera controls and choose Magnifying glass.
Set the camera control button to launch the magnifier when pressed.
Pressing the button will now launch the magnifying glass. But it’s not just a shortcut: press it firmly to reveal the contextual overlay of the camera controls and zoom in by sliding your finger across the surface. Double-touch it to switch between Zoom, Contrast, Brightness and Filters to change these settings without using the screen. (The flashlight controls aren’t included in the overlay, though, so you’ll have to activate them via the onscreen controls: swipe up twice to reveal all magnification controls and tap the flashlight button.)
And scan QR codes quickly
Do people scan QR codes so often that they need one-button access to the code reader feature? Maybe. On the other hand, a while ago I went to the trouble of adding the Scan Code button to the Control Center because it was more convenient than using the Camera app.
Go to Settings > Camera > Camera controls and choose Code scanner to assign the scanner to the camera control button. When it launches, the contextual controls when you firmly touch the button will let you zoom in, something you can’t do otherwise.
Assign the code scanner function to the camera control button.
It’s worth noting that Code Scanner has a number of advantages over the Camera app. You can turn on the flashlight if, for example, you need more lighting. It also loads the QR code destination in its own app space, instead of opening it in the Safari app, where it could add to the clutter of open browser windows.
Apple’s Developer Guidelines dictate that the camera controls can only be used by apps that use the camera, so we won’t see any non-camera implementations for this button. But I can imagine other possible applications.
Perhaps it could act as a fast document scanner to reduce the number of steps required to get a document into the Notes app. Or it can activate Live Recognition accessibility mode for people who have easier access to the Camera Control button than the Action button.
