Two of the iPhone 16 designers appeared on the Cool Hunting Design Tangents podcast, sharing some of the thinking behind the new camera button.
Senior product designer Rich Dean said he’s been working on the iPhone since the original model, but they still approach each generation differently…
Din was joined by UI designer Johnny Manzari.
Din started by saying that he personally appreciated the biggest benefit of the camera controls: being able to pick up the phone and immediately start shooting.
I also have two young kids, two and a half and six, and they both do the funniest things, but, um, having control of the camera, being able to get you going and shoot that video. I mean, I have videos that, um, just probably wouldn't have gotten made otherwise.
Manzari said much of his own photography has transitioned from DSLRs to iPhones, and that family has also influenced that.
When my daughter, who’s in high school now, was little, you know, I used a lot more traditional photography equipment back then. And over the years, that’s really transitioned to the iPhone. And it’s been really nice to leave that kind of equipment, um, behind. It’s just a lot easier to spend time with kids when you’re not carrying a lot of equipment […]
You can give a camera to a little kid and they can take a great photo, but you can also give it to a professional photographer who’s an award-winning photographer and they can use the same tool but push it, take it to the next level, enhance the whole experience and be creative.
They said the starting point for the camera control button was a question of what they could do to make sure people could always capture special moments.
Didn't we start thinking, how and when can we add this button? We started asking the question, how can we get closer to one of our visions in a camera experience that never misses a moment?
Top comment from Edgecrusherr
I was really excited when this was announced. However, I noticed that my pocket would get really hot a few times, and then I realized that I was accidentally starting a video recording in my pocket. I switched the button to a double-click to open the camera, but because of the way the button works, it's still faster and easier to open from the lock screen (I'm sure muscle memory is part of it). Overall, after about a week or so, I don't use the button anymore. I know I'm not the only one with this issue, and CNET even made a whole video about it. I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually get rid of the button..
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They naturally said that a lot of thought went into the specific design of the button.
[We] were thoughtful about all the little details […] The button is flush. And so in everyday use, we hope that the phone will feel just like your, your current phone, in terms of how you hold it and handle it. But we've added a little chamfer there to provide a really nice half-press and full-press feel […]
We wanted to make sure that it was capable of withstanding IP68 water resistance and matching the iPhone's ruggedness. So you've got the sapphire, you've got the stainless steel finish, and on the iPhone 16, you've got the aluminum around it. And all of those things have to match the color as well.
The technology that's being used is completely new to Apple.
So it's a combination of using a force sensor and a capacitive sensor on that mechanical button, which is a first for Apple. We've never done this before, but it opens up new possibilities.
You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts.
Image: Apple
