In less than two months, Apple will unveil the iPhone 16 lineup as well as release its iOS 18 update to the masses. This will be exciting as the iPhone 16 line is expected to get some major upgrades this year. And with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, we’re about to enter a new era for the iPhone.
There’s a lot of new stuff we’re expecting for the iPhone 16, including a new camera layout for the base iPhone 16, an improved periscope telephoto camera for the iPhone 16 Pro, bigger displays with even thinner bezels, the Action button on all models, and more.
But as intriguing as all of this is, there’s one other new feature I’m even more excited about.
The capture button can be a game changer
One of the biggest changes to the iPhone 16 line is the addition of a new button. Similar to last year’s action button for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple is reportedly adding a new capture button. While it was originally rumored to be exclusive to the Pro models, it looks like it could end up in the whole range, including the base model.
The capture button appears to be located at the bottom right of the frame. While we won’t know exactly what function this button serves until Apple announces it, there’s a good chance it has something to do with the camera. After all, it’s rumored to be called a “capture” button. The first thing you will think of is the camera shutter. And when you think about the positioning — the bottom right corner — it just makes the most sense.
Having a physical camera capture button is a big deal. On current iPhone models, if you want to take a picture on iPhone, you have to use the touch screen capture button, the volume up button, or the action button if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max and the camera shortcut is mapped to it .
The problem I have with the current setup is that if I’m trying to take a selfie, I sometimes have a hard time positioning my hand to comfortably reach a button to take my selfie. I have a PopSocket on my iPhone 15 Pro and it helps. Yes, yes – just small, minor issues with the hands.
But think about it; when taking a selfie in vertical portrait orientation, most people will hold their phone from the bottom, with their fingers around it. Whether you’re left-handed or right-handed, there will be fingers or thumbs where that shutter button should go. This would be the perfect place for buttons to make taking selfies easier than ever.
A capture button would also be fantastic for non-selfie photos, especially images that are shot in a horizontal landscape position. As long as you hold it where the camera lens is on the left, it will feel more natural like a traditional point-and-shoot camera. I can even see it being a bit more comfortable when taking one-handed shots with the PopSocket if I hold it in my right hand as well.
You might be thinking, “But couldn’t you already do all that with the action button?” Well, yes, but the position of the action button is on the top left edge, which isn’t that easily accessible unless you’re taking landscape shots with the camera lens on the right side.
But another great thing about the Capture button is that it will open up the action button for other purposes. Right now, on my iPhone 15 Pro, I just have the action button set to launch the Camera app, but I never use it to take a photo or video because it’s hard to reach. With the new capture button, I’ll be able to set the action button to something else I might find useful, like the flashlight or a custom shortcut.
Of course, this assumes that the Capture button will be used as the camera shutter. This is the most reasonable option, but Apple may have other plans. It can also be another custom button, in which case it can be whatever you want it to be. As I see it, the more options there are for the user, the better.
Other exciting changes are coming
While this is the one feature I’m most looking forward to, there are other things that make the iPhone 16 an exciting upgrade overall.
Last year, I used the iPhone 15 Pro instead of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, even though the latter got the better telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. Why? Because I have smaller hands which makes using giant phones uncomfortable.
Rumors suggest that the iPhone 16 Pro will have a better telephoto camera this year due to the slight increase in overall body size. This will certainly be a welcome change for many like me who don’t want the biggest phone just to have the best features.
Another rumor suggests that the ultra-wide lens could jump to 48-megapixels from 12MP. I’ve tried some Android phones that have a large number of megapixels for their ultra-wide lens, like the OnePlus 12, and those extra megapixels make a huge difference. If Apple is really looking to increase the resolution of its ultrawide lenses, it will result in much more detailed and better-looking ultrawide photos, especially at night.
Regardless, the iPhone 16 family looks pretty exciting, especially since Apple added all the Apple Intelligence features to the software. And of course the capture button. Fortunately, with less than two months to go, we don’t have to wait much longer.
