iOS 18, unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 on Monday, brings more functionality to the iPhone 15 Pro’s action button, according to a report. Apple is said to offer quick access to additional customizable actions, including Calculator, Stopwatch, Home, Remote and more. Currently, users can assign nine preset options to the button, except that it does nothing. But it could soon offer more functionality, like turning on dark mode, controlling devices through the Home app, or launching Tap to Cash.
New features are coming to the action button
According to a report by 9to5Mac, Apple has introduced 14 new customizable actions for the Action button with iOS 18 Developer Beta 1. Currently, iOS 17 has options to show Voice Memo, Camera, Focus, Silent Mode, Torch, Translation, Magnifier, Accessibility, and Shortcuts. Apart from 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 iPhone settings. New options include:
- Calculator
- Alarm
- Stopwatch
- Home
- Timer
- Wallet
- Dark mode
- Scan the code
- Airplane mode
- Mobile data
- Personal hotspot
- Remote
- Tap for cash
- 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 that sits above the volume controls, but isn’t available on the iPhone 15 models.
Control Center Updates
Along with more functionality for the Action button, Apple has also revealed a major overhaul of Control Center. Although not unveiled at WWDC, iOS 18 will allow users to access camera features in third-party apps. The availability of this potential feature has been confirmed via a new developer framework called “LockedCameraCapture”.
According to Apple, developers can use it to create extensions that allow people to launch the app to “experience the camera and quickly capture content when the device is locked.”
With iOS 18, users will also be able to swipe across pages to reveal more controls and toggles. The new Controls Gallery will display the full list of options that can be added to the Control Center.
