The iPhone 16 offers some amazing new features, but one of these catches the eye: Camera Control. It is a hybrid button designed to enhance your photography and videography. It's a hardware addition to a mechanical button and a capacitive slider that creates a brand-new way to interact with your iPhone's camera, but some users found it tough to master.

To help you master the Camera Control for a smooth experience, this guide will walk you through each and every step.

What is the Camera Control Button?

How to Use iPhone 16 Camera Control Button

The Camera Control button is a new feature on all iPhone 16 models including the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. It's set two-thirds of the way down the right-hand side and lies flush with the telephone so that you don't get false-pressed selfies from within your pocket.

How Does the Camera Control Button Work?

The Camera Control button works as a button, but only in a way. It provides haptic feedback, kind of like trackpads on MacBooks, that makes you feel as if you'd be pressing a mechanical button. And while its smooth, capacitive surface is responsive to movement by your finger, it's just like the now-extinct Touch Bar on MacBook Pro.

Tapping the button with light pressure will display an overlay on your iPhone screen with all manner of camera options shown. The interface is a new feature in iOS 18 and puts controls right at your fingertips.

Launch the Camera with the Quick Launch

The Camera Control button is a way in which one can easily access the Camera app as soon as its icon has been pressed.

As soon as you press it, the application immediately opens, faster even than to swipe up from the lock screen. It may become helpful for all those who take plenty of snaps on the go because this button is more ergonomic and quicker for accessing the camera.

Well, if accidental launching becomes a problem, you can change that in Settings > Camera > Camera Control as you also have the option to open Camera by double click.

Taking Shots and Videos Comfortably

This is quite important because its ergonomics will make it enhance camera ergonomics. Instead of fumbling around the shutter button on the screen, you just snap a photo or record a video with a simple touch. An easy click on the button shoots an image; holding it down shoots video, with the picture continuing to be taken even when the button is held.

For those who like using the burst mode for fast-action shots, this option can use the Volume Up button for bursts in Settings > Camera > Use Volume Up for Burst.

Advanced Features: Focus Lock and Clean Preview

Apple is issuing a software update that will finally offer the ability to lock focus using the half-press and hold of the Camera Control button. Most digital cameras feature the half-press shutter lock. In the meantime, you can touch and hold on the screen to lock focus and exposure.

For a clean preview of your subject, a soft press on the button hides most of the interface. To turn off this feature, just head to Settings > Camera > Camera Control and uncheck the Clean Preview option.

Zoom and Switch Between Cameras

The Camera Control button also makes zooming and switching between cameras significantly more easy. A light touch of the button produces a slider for changing the focal length without having to touch the screen. You can quickly switch between Ultra Wide, Standard, and Telephoto lenses with a gentle double touch on the button, giving you more control over the shot.

Change Exposure and Depth in Real-Time

Another impressive aspect is live exposure compensation and live depth adjustment. You can access these controls by lightly tapping the Camera Control button twice, whereupon an overlay materializes containing them. In either case-tweaking exposure or changing the simulated depth in Portrait mode—these controls make shooting high-quality images anything but difficult.

Take a Look at Photographic Styles

Apple updated Photographic Styles on the iPhone 16 series and launched them in a more customized form than ever. You can search for photo styles by double-touching the Camera Control button and dragging your finger to preview what it looks like and choose it. Thus, you would have room for adjusting pictures before capturing them.

Video Settings Control

It also controls the camera during video recording. Apple has teased features such as switching between resolutions and frame rates, for example, 4K at 120 FPS. While these options are not available yet, you can zoom and adjust exposure, and change cameras when shooting video.

Other Camera Control Uses

Beyond photography and videography, the camera control button can also read QR codes or be used as a Magnifier. These add-ons in the iPhone 16 give it versatility. These options can be customized as settings by going to Settings > Camera > Camera Control.

Apple is also working on a Visual Intelligence feature that will use the camera to discover objects, for example, restaurants or pet breeds when the iPhone is locked. The feature is to come in an upcoming update and further amplifies the functionality of Camera Control.