Apple has been rather busy experimenting with buttons on its iPhones lately. It introduced the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro, and a year later, added Camera Control to the iPhone 16 lineup. But it seems the company is already considering retiring one of those additions, as it prepares something rather special for the iPhone’s 20th anniversary next year.
As Weibo tipster Instant Digital reports, Apple is planning to remove the dedicated Action button from new iPhones arriving in the second half of 2027. The plan is apparently to merge its functionality with Camera Control. A single press would open the camera, while holding it down would activate whatever function users have assigned to the Action button. The tipster also specifically clarified that it’s the Action button going away, while Camera Control will stay.
Fewer buttons, more responsibilities
On paper, having one less button sounds like a neat way of cleaning up the iPhone’s frame. However, there is the small matter of Camera Control already handling photography, video recording, camera adjustments, and Visual Intelligence.
Given how many different gestures and presses are already involved, adding another set of functions sounds like an invitation for confusion. Apple would also need to figure out what happens to the existing long-press actions, which are already occupied. Perhaps some of those functions could move behind other gestures, though that would bring its own learning curve.
One button could be part of a much bigger redesign
Samsung already does something similar on its Galaxy S26 Ultra. A double-press of the Side button launches the camera, while holding it down activates Gemini by default. It’s a fairly convenient setup, and doesn’t take much getting used to. Apple’s rumored implementation, however, has a lot more functions to accommodate.
As far as the anniversary iPhone goes, we’ve already heard rumors of solid-state controls and curved glass edges. Apple might even skip the iPhone 19 name for iPhone 20, marking twenty years since the original iPhone arrived in 2007.
Of course, we’ve heard plenty about Apple experimenting with buttons over the years, and not all those ideas made it to production. It would be interesting to see whether this change makes it into the final design or remains just another concept.