To choose which settings appear in the Camera Control overlay on iPhone 18 Pro, and in what order, go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control > Customize. Apple Support’s guide lists six candidates for the overlay: Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles and Tone.
The overlay is the menu that appears when you lightly press Camera Control twice, and trimming it to the two or three settings you use makes the slide-to-select step faster. The steps below come from Apple Support’s current Camera Control guide; Apple has not yet published an iOS 27 version, so wording may differ slightly once iOS 27 ships on September 14. Apple’s guide also does not say whether iPhone 18 Pro’s new aperture and shutter speed Pro controls can be added to the overlay, so this article sticks to the six settings Apple lists.
Key facts: Camera Control settings and paths
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Customize the overlay | Settings > Camera > Camera Control > Customize | Apple Support |
| Settings available | Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles, Tone (6) | Apple Support |
| Open the overlay | Lightly press Camera Control twice | Apple Support |
| Open Camera with one or two clicks | Settings > Camera > Camera Control > Single Click or Double Click | Apple Support |
| AE/AF lock | Settings > Camera > Camera Control > Lock Focus and Exposure | Apple Support |
| Pressure and speed | Accessibility options adjust light-press pressure and double-press speed | Apple Support |
| Availability | Not all controls are available in all camera modes | Apple Support |
How to choose and reorder the overlay settings
- Open Settings.
- Tap Camera.
- Tap Camera Control.
- Tap Customize.
- Choose which of Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles and Tone appear in the overlay, and set their order.
- Open Camera, lightly press Camera Control twice, and check that the overlay shows your selection.
Apple’s guide describes the Customize screen only as the place to choose and order the settings in the overlay; it does not list the on-screen controls, so expect a list you can toggle and rearrange rather than a fixed procedure. Once set, a light press twice in Camera opens the overlay, a slide scrolls through your chosen settings, and a light press selects one.
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What each of the six settings does
| Setting | Apple’s description | Worth keeping if |
|---|---|---|
| Exposure | Brighten or darken the scene | You shoot backlit or high-contrast scenes |
| Depth | Increase or decrease the background depth-of-field effect; turns on Portrait mode if it was not already selected | You shoot portraits from the button |
| Zoom | Zoom in or out | You use the 2x, 4x and 8x steps often |
| Cameras | Switch between cameras, including the front-facing camera | You swap lenses more than you zoom |
| Styles | Change the Photographic Style | You switch looks between shots |
| Tone | Lighten or deepen the mood | You fine-tune a single style |
Two of these overlap with iPhone 18 Pro hardware. Zoom on this phone runs across the 13 mm Ultra Wide, 24 mm main, 48 mm 2x crop, 100 mm 4x telephoto and 200 mm 8x optical-quality crop listed in Apple’s tech specs, so the Zoom setting has five stops to slide through. Depth is a software effect and is separate from the main camera’s physical variable aperture, which Apple’s guide does not list as an overlay setting.
Single click, double click and pressure options
The same Settings > Camera > Camera Control screen holds three more choices. Single Click or Double Click sets how many clicks open Camera, which is the fix if the button opens Camera from a pocket. Lock Focus and Exposure enables an AE/AF lock: with it on, Apple’s steps are to click to open Camera, lightly press and hold Camera Control until AE/AF Lock appears above the frame, keep your finger on the button, then click to shoot or click and hold for video; releasing turns the lock off. Accessibility options adjust the light-press pressure and the double-press speed.
Apple’s guide also covers Camera Control beyond Camera: visual intelligence when Apple Intelligence is on, and a separate guide for opening Magnifier, Code Scanner or a third-party camera app. Those do not use the overlay and are unaffected by Customize.
If it does not work
If a setting you added does not appear, check the camera mode: Apple says not all controls are available in all modes, and Depth in particular switches Camera to Portrait mode. If the overlay does not open, the light press may be too light or the double press too slow; adjust both in the accessibility options Apple lists. If Camera opens when you did not intend it, switch to Double Click. And remember the steps follow Apple’s current guide; if iOS 27 moves the Customize screen, the Settings > Camera > Camera Control path is the place to start looking. Our iOS 27 release date guide tracks the update.
What Apple has not said
- Whether aperture, shutter speed, white balance or the histogram from the new Pro controls can be added to the Camera Control overlay.
- The exact layout of the Customize screen, or a minimum or maximum number of settings you can keep.
- Which of the six settings are hidden in which camera modes.
- An iOS 27 revision of the Camera Control guide.
iPhone 18 Pro pre-orders open Saturday, September 12 at 5 a.m. PT from $1,199 for 256GB, with the phone available Friday, September 18, according to Apple’s press release. The iPhone 18 Pro official guide has the full spec list, and the Pro vs Pro Max comparison helps pick the size before you customize the button.
