Apple plans to merge the iPhone's Action button with the Camera Control starting next year, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claimed that a single press of the combined button would open the camera, while a long press would trigger the function assigned to the Action button. They explicitly clarified that the dedicated Action button would disappear, while the Camera Control button would remain.
The proposed arrangement seems plausible given how the two features already work. The Action button predates the Camera Control and requires a long press to activate its assigned function, while a single press of the Camera Control opens the camera. Combining them in the way described would therefore preserve both familiar interactions, with the customizable action simply moving to a different location on the device.
A long press of Camera Control currently opens Visual Intelligence, but that feature has since been integrated directly into the Camera app as Siri mode in iOS 27. That integration could give Apple room to reassign the gesture while keeping Visual Intelligence accessible through the Camera app.
It is notable that the iPhone Duo also lacks an Action button, despite retaining Camera Control. Its omission provides a precedent for an iPhone without the separate control and could hint at a broader change in the future.
The Camera Control received a mixed reception when it debuted on the iPhone 16, with some reviewers criticizing its usefulness, complexity, and ergonomics, making further refinement seem plausible. Combining it with the Action button could give the control a clearer sense of purpose. Removing a separate button could also simplify manufacturing and reduce the potential for users to confuse the Action button with the adjacent volume buttons.
Apple was previously rumored to be working on a simplified Camera Control design for the iPhone 18 lineup, but that change did not materialize. Instant Digital claimed Apple would remove the capacitive sensing layer and rely on pressure sensing to reduce costs while retaining its functions.
The iPhone 16's Camera Control button.
The latest rumor raises the possibility that a redesign is still in development, potentially as part of a broader rethink that incorporates the Action button's functionality, although it remains unclear whether the two claims describe related plans.
Apple introduced the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023 as a replacement for the longstanding Ring/Silent switch. It can be assigned to functions such as Silent mode, Focus, the flashlight, Shortcuts, and more. The rumored combined control would retain a dedicated way to trigger those actions while reducing the number of physical buttons.
Instant Digital said that the change will take place starting with new iPhone models released in the second half of 2027. The claimed timing would presumably coincide with the launch of Apple's 20th-anniversary iPhone models in the fall of next year. Apple's naming plans remain unclear, so the devices could be called the "iPhone 19 Pro," "iPhone 20 Pro," or something else.
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