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Oct 15, 2024

I finally tried the iPhone Action button — and I don’t get it | Tom's Guide

The Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models is far too limited When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. There's something

The Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models is far too limited

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

There's something about moving to a new phone that's just amazing, and nothing more jarring than when you find a feature that you don't like.

This is what happened to me as I recently upgraded my iPhone 14 Pro Max to an iPhone 15 Pro Max. Yes, I know, I am very late to the party — my "new" phone has since given way to the iPhone 16 Pro Max in Apple's lineup — but I wanted to wait until we had a bit more information about Apple Intelligence features and when we could expect to see them.

Anyhow, better late than never, right? And for the most part, I am happy with the upgrade to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but there is one thing that I really don't get — the Action button on that phone. (And it's now on all current iPhone flagships, as of the iPhone 16 release.)

I can see that there is a lot to love about the Action button, but I have some serious issues with how it was implemented, especially when it comes to one main function.

If you're not familiar with this Apple hardware addition let me give you a basic run down. The Action button replaces the small switch that used to set an iPhone to silent. That's still a job for the Action button, but that isn't all it can do.

In addition to silencing your phone, you can set the Action button to perform several functions; from turning on your flashlight to focusing your camera. Even better, the iOS 18 update has delivered massive Action button improvements that open up the button to third-party camera apps. So I agree that the idea behind the Action button is clever — I just wish it could do more than one thing at a time.

At least it's easy to set the Action button: all you have to do is go into the settings and use the very stylish menu. But again, if you want your Action button to trigger more than one shortcut, you need to keep going back to reset it.

Let's say I want to quickly set the Action button to turn on my flashlight rather than have it set my phone to silent. To do this I need to go into Settings and turn set it to operate the flashlight. But if I want the Action button to do anything else — including silence my phone — I've got to go back and reset things. And that's a pain, as silent mode is easily my most used feature for the device.

That raises another question, for me anyhow: what does the Action button accomplish that the on-screen options don't already do?

After all, I can turn the phone's flashlight from the lock screen with ease if I want that to be an on-screen control. What difference would it make to assign that task to a button, especially if I've got to then change the settings to do something else with the Action button.

There is a solution to my dilemma, but it's not a very simple. It is possible to download the free Actions app from the App Store; it lets you change what the action button does depending on the orientation of the phone. In my experience, the app is tricky to get used to — so much so that the average user might be put off by trying. More to the point, it seems like an issue Apple should address without any third-party app intervention.

That said, I will confess that I've found the Action button to be handy when used with some apps. I certainly can see the advantage of a dedicated button with different uses in games or the camera app or elsewhere. I just don't feel that the Action button really serves its purpose on the home screen in the same way.

I would hope that future updates will bring more functionality to the Action button. I don't want to have to fiddle around with another app when I should just be able to do set it and forget in the Settings app. I'd also like to see next year's iPhone 17 bring back a dedicated silent mode switch. Until then, I'll have to turn to a workaround introduced by iOS 18 and change the lock screen controls to swap in an on-screen shortcut to silence my phone. That's great when I'm on the lock screen, but a dedicate button lets me silence the phone no matter what I'm doing.

If you happen to love the Action button then let me know! Or if you just got a iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 series phone, then you can check our guides for how to get the most out of the action button.

Here at Tom’s Guide our expert editors are committed to bringing you the best news, reviews and guides to help you stay informed and ahead of the curve!

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer.

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