The iPhone 16 Is Getting an Action Button: Here's Everything It Will Do (2024)

Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models are widely expected to inherit the Action button first seen on last year's iPhone 15 Pro models. The Action button replaces the traditional Ring/Silent switch – a staple of the iPhone since it launched in 2007. For users unfamiliar with the Action button, here's a rundown of its functions – including some new features that iOS 18 will bring to the table for all iPhone models with an Action button.

The Action button replaces the single-function switch used to toggle between ring and silent, offering additional options so users can choose between quickly accessing the camera or flashlight, activate Voice Memos, Focus modes, Translate, and accessibility features like Magnifier. Users can also associate it with Shortcuts for more options.

• iPhone 15 Pro: How to Customize the Action Button
• iPhone 15 Pro: How to Assign Two Functions to the Action Button

A press-and-hold gesture with fine-tuned haptic feedback and visual cues in the Dynamic Island ensure the new Action button launches the intended action, which users can customize in Settings and assign to different actions.

Existing Action Button Functions

Here's what the Action button can be programmed to do:

• Accessibility: Access to various accessibility settings, such as VoiceOver, Zoom, AssistiveTouch, Live Speech, and more.
• Shortcuts: Open your favorite app, or run a shortcut created in or downloaded from the Shortcuts app, such as sending a message, playing a playlist, or controlling smart home devices.
• Silent Mode: Like the Ring/Silent switch on existing iPhone models, toggle silent mode on or off, which will mute or unmute the ringer and alerts.
• Camera: Take a photo, selfie, video, portrait, or portrait selfie with a single press of the Action button.
• Flashlight: Turn on or off the flashlight on the back of the device.
  Focus: Activate or deactivate a Focus mode.
• Magnifier: Activate the Magnifier app to use the iPhone's camera as a magnifying glass to zoom in on small text or objects.
• Translate: Launch the Translate app and start a conversation or text translation with a single press of the Action button.
• Voice Memos: Start or stop recording a voice memo with the Voice Memos app.

New Action Button Functions Coming in iOS 18

iOS 18 allows the Action button to be assigned to one of the dozens of controls available in the new Control Center gallery, allowing the Action button to invoke Dark Mode, Airplane Mode, Personal Hotspot, and more.

Available Control Center actions in iOS 18 will include:

• Calculator
• Stopwatch
• Alarm
• Home
• Timer
• Dark Mode
• Scan Code
• Airplane Mode

• Cellular Data
• Personal Hotspot
• Dark Mode
• Quick Note
• Remote
• Wallet
• Tap to Cash
• Ping My Watch

These new options are in addition to the actions that were already available for the Action button on iOS 17, including Ring/Silent, Do Not Disturb, Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Magnifier, Translate, Shortcut, and Accessibility. Some of the new Control Center options were already possible with the Shortcut or Accessibility options.

Multiple rumors have suggested that all the iPhone 16 models will also have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Check out our dedicated article on the subject to learn more about what it will do. Apple is expected to announce the new iPhone 16 lineup next month.

Article Link: The iPhone 16 Is Getting an Action Button: Here's Everything It Will Do

The action button has been used as mute on my iPhone 15 Pro Max since they got rid of the mute switch.

More of the same for iPhone 16. Great. This inspires. So brave. /s

I'm not looking forward to this button when it finds its way onto my next iPhone mini (I can dream), as the old style mute button is helpful to locate the [edit: orientation]

without looking.

MrSegundus said:

The action button has been used as mute on my iPhone 15 Pro Max since they got rid of the mute switch.

More of the same for iPhone 16. Great. This inspires. So brave. /s

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You are welcome to get an Android which is likely so much more inspiring!

CharlesShaw said:

I'm not looking forward to this button when it finds its way onto my next iPhone mini (I can dream), as the old style mute button is helpful to locate the volume buttons without looking.

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MrSegundus said:

The action button has been used as mute on my iPhone 15 Pro Max since they got rid of the mute switch.

More of the same for iPhone 16. Great. This inspires. So brave. /s

Click to expand...

Yeah I mean, you can’t find the volume buttons at this point on a phone?

Also agree. Apple has stopped any innovation of their phones. Had to create the island instead of under screen camera. Not as if their selfie camera is even that great. They’ll be years behind under screen camera and it’ll be like gods gift to the world.
Apple is losing its touch, and Tim has been way too about money. The pixel 9P XL is calling my name now that RCS exists. Wife and kids can keep their Apple stuff.

xmarcuswildx said:

Yeah I mean, you can’t find the volume buttons at this point on a phone?

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I mean the feel of the old button helps me figure out which way the phone is oriented.

Remesh said:

You are welcome to get an Android which is likely so much more inspiring!

Click to expand...

This is the problem. This IS an Android feature, and it sucks. The mute switch was one of the few hardware specific differences between iPhones and Androids, and the only thing I missed when I used a P30 Pro for a while. It was one of the reasons I wanted to switch back.

Q: Is my phone in silent?
iPhone 14: Take a look, or feel in your pocket.
iPhone 16 and all androids: Press that button, and yes it was silent, cause you just disabled silent mode. So you have to press AGAIN. That means at least one press of a button, but more likely two, every time you want to know whether you are. Means handling your phone every time instead of just looking. Morons!

They should have just kept the mute switch and put the Action button where this new Capture button will go.
In camera mode, Action button is Capture and commence autofocus on half-press.
Outside of camera mode it's customizable. Easy as pie.

Looks like the iphone just got more complicated again - I’ll bet, that button is one of the features 95% of users won‘t ever personalize and that won‘t go deep enough for 95% of the remainig 5% - it‘ll just annoy those who were used to play with their silent/ring switch in their pockets.

Also, the old button had haptic feedback (e.g. you could feel it‘s position without using it) and optical feedback (you could see it‘s position, plus the orange lining), it added variety by being a switch instead of a button (it‚s not like it wouldn’t have been possible to change it’s functions via software) and looked imho much better than the action button. Personally, it feels like one small step forward and 5 steps back.

And here is what happens to it after 2 weeks of buying iPhone 16 :

xmarcuswildx said:

Had to create the island instead of under screen camera. Not as if their selfie camera is even that great. They’ll be years behind under screen camera and it’ll be like gods gift to the world.

Click to expand...

That's been Apple's approach for the entirety of the iPhone's life, even under Steve. Apple's always been late to deploy features before other smartphones, from LTE to 5G to night modes and multi-lens cameras to increased megapixel counts and high refresh rates. Under-display cameras still suck and folding displays still have reliability issues so Apple won't release those as features.

Smartphones in general have stagnated because the technology that goes into them has largely matured, hence why Apple is chasing new segments like the Vision Pro.

I know with some user base this "Action Button" thingy is very popular, but I think Apple decided to break something so they can find a fix to something that wasn't broken nor in need of fixing.

Too much reliance on haptics and touch stuff, when mechanical button was perfectly fine and it didn't compromised water tightness rating of the phone. By using new AB Apple actually raised the cost of manufacture because old school switch was like 0.01 cent because Apple (subcontractors) manufactured tens of millions of them over the years.

DrWojtek said:

Q: Is my phone in silent?
iPhone 14: Take a look, or feel in your pocket.
iPhone 16 and all androids: Press that button, and yes it was silent, cause you just disabled silent mode. So you have to press AGAIN. That means at least one press of a button, but more likely two, every time you want to know whether you are. Means handling your phone every time instead of just looking. Morons!

Click to expand...

This could be especially problematic for those who work where phones must be kept out of sight.

Why kind of mention this as a new feature, as it arrived last year? Even if expanding to all/more models, it is still a stretch.

Anyway, I wonder if it is possible to change the configuration of the action button based on focus mode?