iPhone 16 Camera Control button: the most un-Apple Apple thing ever

Apple’s iPhone 16 series surprised us in several ways, especially with the introduction of the Camera Control button. The long-standing joke that “Apple doesn’t add buttons” has been worn thin, but there’s a reason for that—it has held true for some time.

A few years back, we were immersed in concepts and rumors about a buttonless, portless iPhone. While these ideas seemed somewhat far-fetched, they were easy to accept given Apple’s track record of eliminating “simple” hardware in favor of over-engineered solutions that few people actually requested.

I still imagine engineers in Cupertino engaged in serious brainstorming sessions about a buttonless iPhone. Last year, we saw the debut of the new Action Button, which replaced the traditional mechanical Mute toggle and made it programmable. However, it had its limitations—it could only perform one function (albeit with stylish animations) and was restricted to the Pro models. Yet, the last two iPhone generations have given us quite the opposite.