Adam Kos Apple first tried the action button on the Apple Watch Ultra, and lately there has been lively speculation that the iPhone will also provide it. On the one hand, we say goodbye to the iconic volume switch, on the other hand, we get more options and functions. So what could this news bring?
Regarding the buttons on the upcoming iPhones, a fairly rich carousel of speculations has started, informing about how they will look, but also how they will work. We probably won't see the originally mentioned haptic buttons, if the ones for volume control are then combined into one oblong, but it is quite likely. An action button instead of a volume rocker then seems almost a certainty.
9to5Mac's visualization of what the Actions button might look like
Especially with the advent of smart watches that inform us about events on our wrist and our phone is permanently muted, the volume switch loses its meaning. You don't have to have an Apple Watch right away, notifications are also delivered to ordinary fitness bracelets for a few hundred CZK. Such notifications are not only more discreet, but you don't even have to take your phone out of your pocket for them, which is why it really makes sense to replace this hardware element with something better, which is the action button.
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Vratislav Holub Of course, we don't yet know exactly what he will be able to do. Since Apple limits this to the Apple Watch Ultra in a certain way, we cannot expect that we will have a free hand here and the ability to map any function to it, but only determine the one that Apple allows us. But it is very likely that it will also respond to a long press or a double press. That would open the door to even more use for it.
Select functions for the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra
- Exercise
- Stopwatch
- Waypoint (quickly add a waypoint on the compass)
- Return
- Diving
- Flashlight
- Abbreviation
Of course, these options will not be copied to the iPhone 1:1, because diving in it does not logically make sense. The same can be said about the flashlight, because we have it right on the locked screen of the iPhone. Then there is the function Disclosure, which is called Tap on the back. In it, you can set functions from screenshot to mute to background sounds. So there is not much room for the action button to offer something more and not just combine these options.
Gallery
In addition, it is quite possible that the company will introduce a completely new function for the button that we have not heard of yet. WWDC23 will show iOS 17, but here we are talking about iPhone 15, which will not come until September. Apple also did not present the Dynamic Island function at the presentation of iOS 16. So the action button can certainly be interesting, but it is not appropriate to expect a completely new sense of phone control from it.
