A report claiming the iPhone 18 will drop the Camera Control button is largely unfounded, but one aspect of its criticism may hold merit: few people are using this feature.
Introduced in the iPhone 16 Pro models last year, the Camera Control button was touted as a hardware control for users who wanted more customization. However, in practice, it proved to be fiddlier than expected and disappointing for features like smooth zoom during video shooting.
Many users, including the author, found the button’s functionality to be less intuitive than the touchscreen UI. The feature of “swipe to zoom” was deemed awkward due to its sensitivity issues, making it easier to use the tap-and-swipe shortcuts displayed in the viewfinder instead.
The addition of a dedicated Camera Control button may have been seen as a way to differentiate the iPhone 16 from its predecessor, but it appears that Apple has largely abandoned this feature. The author suspects that this might be one of Apple’s biggest flops, and opinions on the matter are sought through a poll for iPhone 16 Pro owners.
Source: https://9to5mac.com/2025/08/19/is-the-camera-control-button-one-of-the-biggest-iphone-flops-poll