iPhone 15 Pro’s Action Button to Support More Features with iOS 18: Report

iOS 18, introduced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 on Monday, is bringing more functionality to the iPhone 15 Pro's Action button, according to a report. Apple is said to offer quick access to additional customisable actions, including Calculator, Stopwatch, Home, Remote, and more. At present, users can assign nine preset options to the button, in addition to it doing nothing. But it could soon offer more functionalities, such as toggling dark mode, controlling devices via the Home app, or bringing up Tap to Cash.

New features coming to Action button

According to a 9to5Mac report, Apple has introduced 14 new customisable actions for the Action button with iOS 18 Developer Beta 1. At present, iOS 17 has options to bring up Voice Memo, Camera, Focus, Silent Mode, Torch, Translate, Magnifier, Accessibility, and Shortcuts. In addition to these options, users can also set it to do nothing.

iOS 18 is reportedly set to expand on these existing actions via a new 'Controls' option in the iPhone settings. The new options include:

1. Calculator
2. Alarm
3. Stopwatch
4. Home
5. Timer
6. Wallet
7. Dark Mode
8. Scan Code
9. Airplane Mode
10. Cellular Data
11. Personal Hotspot
12. Remote
13. Tap to Cash
14. Ping My Watch

The Action button was introduced by Apple in 2023 with the launch of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. It replaced the mute switch located above the volume controls, but isn't available on the iPhone 15 models. 

Control Center updates

In addition to more functionalities for the Action button, Apple also revealed a major overhaul of the Control Center. While it was not showcased at WWDC, iOS 18 will allow users to access the camera features in third-party applications. The availability of this potential feature was confirmed via a new framework for developers named “LockedCameraCapture”.

According to Apple, developers can use it to create an extension that allows people to launch the app's “camera experience and capture content quickly when the device is locked.”

With iOS 18, users will also be able to swipe across pages to bring up more controls and toggles. A new controls gallery will display the full list of options that can be added to the Control Center.