iPhone 16 Capture Button Will Respond to Touch and Pressure for Zooming and Focusing

Apple is planning to add a new "Capture Button" to the iPhone 16 models, as we first reported back in September. When the news broke about the extra button, we didn't initially know what it was for, but the name gave us some hints and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed in December that it would be used for taking video.

iPhone 16 Pro Mock Header Updated
The Information has now shared a few new details on the function of the Capture Button, including some of the gestures that it will support. The site says that the button is mechanical rather than capacitive, but it will respond to pressure and touch.

iPhone users will be able to zoom in and out by swiping left and right on the button, focus with a light press, and activate a recording with a more forceful press.

Apple plans to put the Capture Button on the right side of the ‌iPhone‌, located below the Power button and in an ideal spot for finger access when the ‌iPhone‌ is held in a horizontal orientation. At the current time, this is the location of the mmWave antenna in the United States, but the antenna will move to the left side of the device with the addition of the extra button.

According to The Information, Apple believes the new button will be a major selling point for the ‌iPhone 16‌ lineup, and it is being introduced to further push the ‌iPhone‌ as a camera alternative for shooting horizontal video.

Apple has not yet finalized the design of the ‌iPhone 16‌, so the function and design of the button could change in the future.

Related Roundups: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...

Top Rated Comments

klasma Avatar
26 weeks ago

Really??
Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave as we speak. Smh we need a redesign iPhone or somthing better. Your excited over a button?? lol I’m still going to get it but me & you are excited over a button & larger screen lol
No, I was making a pun. I’ll be keeping my iPhone 13 mini as long as possible. And I dislike capacitive buttons.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
McWetty Avatar
26 weeks ago
As a photographer… this seems maybe kinda sorta useful.

As an iPhone user… it’s just one more button for me to accidentally hit when i mean to take a screenshot or change the volume. I really don’t think we need more buttons.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
26 weeks ago
It’ll be the most captivating button ever!


the button is mechanical rather than capacitive
Well that’s one good news at least.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
subjonas Avatar
26 weeks ago
I like pressure sensitivity. Bring back 3D Touch!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Surf Monkey Avatar
26 weeks ago
This actually seems like a good idea now that we have a better idea of what it’s for. I see people struggle with the software controls for Photos all the time and the volume button as the capture button just leads to lots of unintended shots.

With a button that handles zoom Apple can keep people in the native focal lengths of the lenses and a manual focus button would eliminate a lot of screen poking when shooting as well.

So while I was skeptical at first now I’m curious. There’s a problem to solve here (clumsy interface that leads to bad shots) and it appears Apple is trying to solve it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
26 weeks ago

As an iPhone user… it’s just one more button for me to accidentally hit when i mean to take a screenshot or change the volume. I really don’t think we need more buttons.
Yeah, and it’ll be confusing to not use the Capture button for taking a screen capture. ;)

Not sure why they don’t call it the Camera button, that would be more readily understandable.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)