Before last week’s iPhone 16 event, several reports detailed a brand-new button for the 2024 iPhones. The so-called Capture button became official last week when Apple confirmed that all four iPhone 16 variants will have a Camera Control button on the right side, under the Side button.
Apple went on to reveal the complex functionality of the Camera Control button. It’s not just about snapping pics and videos or tweaking photo settings without touching the screen. The new button will also be involved in Apple Intelligence when a new Visual Intelligence feature arrives on the iPhone at some point. The AI of the future will need eyes, and the Camera Control button is a quick way to make that happen. A future update will also turn the Camera Control into a two-step shutter button later this year.
Will Android vendors copy everything about the Camera Control button? That’s something I wondered as Apple demoed the new features. Unsurprisingly, it turns out that at least three companies might introduce similar buttons on future devices.
There’s no question that Apple continues to be a trendsetter when it comes to smartphones. Android rivals are usually tempted to follow Apple’s lead, whether it’s hardware design or software, though they don’t always copy everything.
The iPhone got lots of criticism for removing the headphone jack, but everyone else followed suit. The AirPods are a direct result of that move, and they continue to be incredibly popular with buyers. Almost every Android smartphone vendor out there also makes their own wireless earphones.
Apple also popularized the all-screen smartphone design that everybody uses right now. It wasn’t the first company to introduce a notch design, but Apple was the first to come up with thin, symmetrical bezels around the whole display. Android vendors struggled to copy Apple’s clean design for a while. Many of the first iPhone X clones featured annoying “chin” bezels at the bottom.
Not everything Apple does can be copied with ease. Face ID 3D face recognition functionality is a game-changing iPhone feature that Android vendors haven’t really embraced.
Then there are iPhone features they never really tried to implement. The Action button of last year’s iPhone 15 Pros, now found on all iPhone 16 phones, is an example of that. The Dynamic Island that the iPhone 14 Pros introduced is another. Android vendors already have hole-punch displays in place.
As for the software, iOS has seen so many clones over on Android it’s not even worth discussing them.
Apple copies software features and adapts hardware ideas. The notch is one idea that was first seen elsewhere. As for camera buttons, some Sony Xperia phones had them before Apple. But once Apple adopts an idea, it’s more likely competitors will support it.
With all that in mind, seeing teasers that Oppo, Nubia, and RealMe might copy the Camera Control button isn’t that surprising. The button should be quite useful, and it’s one of the reasons I’ll be upgrading to one of the iPhone 16. Activating visual AI search with the button is also a neat feature to have whenever Apple Intelligence is ready.
Oppo was the first to tease a similar concept. It showed the “Quick Button” (above) coming to the Find X8 series in late August.
On the same day as Apple’s Glowtime event, Nubia president Ni Fei said on Weibo that a “more realistic camera button.” is coming.
A few days after Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event, Realme posted a clip on Weibo that shows a Camera Control-like button in action on an unreleased device. The Realme button can also zoom in and out and take photos.
It’s unclear at this time whether these buttons will copy the actual technology Apple uses for Camera Control or whether these new hardware buttons will enable camera-related AI features on these Android phones.
That said, it’s too early to tell whether any of the big players in the Android field will implement their own Camera Control alternatives. I’m referring to Samsung, Google, Motorola, Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei.
