The iPhone 16 series could gain yet another new hardware button, according to a new report.
If you bought an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max at launch, you’re probably still getting accustomed to the new Action Button (pictured). However, Apple may not be finished with its control tinkering.
MacRumors claims that next year’s iPhone 16 line-up will gain an additional button on the right-hand edge, below the power button, roughly where the 5G mmWave cutout is on US iPhone models. It’s being referred to internally as the ‘Capture Button’.
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Unlike the Action Button, which is mechanical, this Capture Button is said to be capacitive. This means that it detects pressure and supplies haptic feedback to mimic the sensation of pressing a button – think the Home/Touch ID button on the iPhone SE and iPhone 8.
Indeed, Apple is expected to make the aforementioned Action Button capacitive with next year’s models too.
While it’s not yet known what this Capture Button is intended for, precisely, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to take an educated stab. The term ‘Capture’ implies capturing an image or video, and the button’s placement would be about where you’d want to place a physical camera shutter button, like on the Sony Xperia 1 V.
The report notes that this Capture Button is in testing right across the iPhone 16 range, suggesting that this may not be a Pro-only feature, unlike the Action Button. It also notes that Apple is testing a version of the iPhone 16 without this extra button, meaning it’s not a shoe-in for next year’s model by any means.
