With the iPhone 16 In the lineup, Apple brought the action button to all four devices, expanding it from last year’s exclusive limitation. At the same time, there is a new camera control button that eliminates the need to activate the camera with the action button, which was one of the most useful features. At the same time, there are new Control Center options you can configure in the Action Button, expanding what’s possible.
This guide goes over what you can do with the action button with an ‌iPhone 16‌ and iOS 18and you may find it helpful in finding something new to use.
Basic functions
Since the action button has been around since last year, Apple has several basic functions that can be assigned to it.
- Silent mode – This turns silent mode on and off, and is the one-for-one replacement of the previous silent switch. This is useful if you want to turn the sound on frequently and have the option to turn it off, but if you’re a silent person all the time, it’s not as functional.
- Focus – You can set the action button to activate any focus mode you have set. This is a good option if you have a Do Not Disturb type of approach that you like to turn on and off throughout the day. Of course, focus modes can also be set to turn on and off at specific times, so they can be automated in other ways.
- Camera – If you have an ‌iPhone 16‌ with the camera control button, you don’t need to set the action button to open the camera, unless you want it to do something like open the selfie camera while the camera control button opens the rear camera . However, it’s easy to change camera modes from the Camera Control button or the Camera app once it’s open.
- Flash – Flashlight is potentially one of the most useful action button settings if you regularly use the flashlight feature in the dark. Before ‌iOS 18‌, the flashlight was a required button on the lock screen, but that is no longer the case. You can now set other functions on the lock screen, so it may make more sense to move the flashlight to the action button depending on how often you use it.
- voice notes – Setting the action button as a voice memo starts a recording when you press the button for the first time and stops it when you press it for the second time. In ‌iOS 18‌, you can get voice memo transcriptions, which adds many more features. If you want to record class lectures, interviews, or meetings regularly, your best option may be to set Voice Memos to the Action button.
- recognize music – This basically activates Shazam to tell you what music is playing around you. Unless you’re using Shazam all the time, it’s probably best to turn it on from Control Center.
- Translate – When you press the action button with the Translate option set, it will automatically listen to what is being said and then provide a translation. You’ll have to select your languages ​​in the Translate app, but after that, a full app doesn’t open. It’s a quick access interface where you can get a translation and even hear that translation out loud. There are some language limitations, but if you are traveling to a country where one of the available languages ​​is spoken, this is a very useful way to take advantage of the action button.
- magnifying glass – Magnifier opens the Camera app and allows you to set a zoom level so you can magnify small text. You can change the brightness and contrast for better viewing and activate the flash if it’s dark. If you have poor vision and problems with text being too small, the Magnifying Glass has the potential to be useful and you will probably need it often enough to justify assigning it to the Action Button.
- Accessibility – You can set the action button for any accessibility feature. There’s a long list of options, but some of the most useful ones to use with a quick access switch include Zoom, VoiceOver, Voice Control, Apple Watch Mirroring, Background Sounds, Conversation Boost, Live Speech, and Guided Access.
- No action – Don’t want to use the action button? Setting it to No Action means that it will do nothing when pressed.
Shortcuts
You can set any shortcut to activate with the action button using the “Shortcuts” setting, and this is how some people make the most of the feature. You can create a shortcut that displays several different applications and functions.
He “Super action button“, for example, opens a menu where you can choose from options such as taking a screenshot, turning on the flashlight, creating a reminder, starting a voice memo, opening Apple Mapscreate a Calendar event, scan a document and more.
You can find several of these online on Reddit or MacRumors forumsor you can create your own with the features you want to access quickly.
Third-party apps that have developer-created shortcuts will also appear in the Action Button Shortcuts section, so if you want the Action Button to do something like open a book in Audible or create a to-do in Things, you’ll need to configure That happens with the Shortcuts app. Below are some shortcuts to first-party and third-party applications that may be useful:
- ChatGPT – Ask ChatGPT a question you type or start a voice conversation.
- Audible – Read a book or set a sleep timer.
- Clock – Set a stopwatch.
- Files – Scan a document.
- Google – Start a Google search or voice search.
- Music – Play music from your apple music library or a radio station.
- Phone – Call or Face to face someone.
- Podcasts – Play a podcast.
- Things – Add a pending task.
- Fantastic – Create an event.
- Remote – Activate the remote control function to AppleTV.
- Open an application – Set the action button to open any app you have installed.
What you have available for the Shortcuts Action Button option will depend on what apps you have installed and what siri Shortcut functions they have implemented. Note that this setting is different from the Control Center controls that you can also assign to the action button.
To make things more confusing, there are different app actions in the Shortcuts app that are not available in the Action Button settings unless you have previously configured them. You can, for example, have the action button launch a search on Amazon, but only if you have set up a shortcut for that function.
So if there’s something you want to do that you don’t see in the Shortcuts interface in the Action Button Settings, head to the Shortcuts app, tap the “+” button, and check out the different app options there. If you find an app feature you want to use, such as activating a Hue lighting scene, set it as a shortcut and so you can assign it to action button.
Along with these simple app options you already have available, you can download any shortcut from the Shortcuts Gallery or from the Internet and add it to the Action Button.
Controls
So in ‌iOS 18‌, Apple opened Control Center to third-party app developers and also added more of its own Control Center options. Some of those new Control Center features can be configured on the Action Button, and you’ll find them in the Controls section when you decide on a feature for your Action Button.
There are some Control Center controls that simply aren’t available. There is no option to activate Low Power Mode with a Control Center option for the action button. You can set the action button to activate low power mode, but you must do it with shortcuts.
You can also do things like turn off cellular connectivity, but not Wi-Fi, although both are Control Center options.
The distinction between shortcuts and controls is pretty confusing, especially with arbitrary restrictions like that. Some of the Control Center options available:
- Activate Dark mode
- Open the timer interface
- Scan a code
- Open an app like Instagram or Halide in the camera
- Activate airplane mode
- Disable mobile data
- Open the Home app
- Start a quick note
There are also third-party controls, and many of them reflect what you can do with their shortcuts. But some apps may have Control Center controls and not shortcuts, or there may be differences between what’s available. Shortcuts generally have more options available.
Lock screen controls
Note that you can now also set different Control Center controls on the lock screen, as the Camera and Flashlight options can be swapped. It might make more sense to set a Control Center action on the lock screen so you can free up the action button for something else.
Share action button settings
What do you use the action button for? Let us know in the comments below if you come up with something clever.
