Camera Control is the pressure-sensitive button on the right edge of the iPhone 18 Pro, and Apple’s overview page describes it as the fastest way into Camera for a photo or video. It clicks, it half-presses, and it reads a finger sliding along it, which is why it can adjust zoom, exposure and Photographic Styles without you touching the screen.
This guide walks through every input the button accepts, the six settings it controls, and the Settings switches that change how it behaves. These steps come from Apple’s current Camera Control support guide, which is written for iOS 26. iPhone 18 Pro ships with iOS 27, and the free update lands on other iPhones on September 14, so button labels and menu positions may shift slightly.
What each press and slide does
Apple’s support guide reduces Camera Control to three physical inputs, and everything else is built on them. A full click is the shutter. A light press is a menu. A slide is a dial.
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| Input | What happens |
|---|---|
| Click once | Opens Camera from anywhere, including the Lock Screen |
| Click again | Takes a photo, or starts recording if Camera opened in Video mode |
| Click and hold | Records a video for as long as you hold |
| Light press twice | Opens the overlay of settings for the current mode |
| Slide | Scrolls through settings, or adjusts the selected one |
| Light press and hold | Locks focus and exposure, if enabled in Settings |
Apple’s guide adds one note worth remembering: if Camera was left in Video mode, the first click after opening starts recording rather than taking a still.
How to pick and adjust a setting
The overlay is where Camera Control earns its name. Apple lists six adjustable settings: Exposure to brighten or darken the scene, Depth to change the background blur (which switches on Portrait mode if it was off), Zoom, Cameras to swap lenses including the front camera, Styles to change the Photographic Style, and Tone to lighten or deepen the mood. Apple notes that not all controls are available in every camera mode.
- Click the Camera Control to open Camera.
- Lightly press the Camera Control twice to open the overlay of settings for that camera mode.
- Slide your finger on the Camera Control to scroll through the settings, then lightly press once to select the one you want.
- Slide your finger on the Camera Control to adjust the setting. Your choice is saved and reappears the next time you lightly press.
- Click the Camera Control to take the shot.
To decide which settings appear in the overlay and in what order, go to Settings, Camera, Camera Control, then Customize. Removing the ones you never touch makes the slide gesture faster to use on the iPhone 18 Pro, where the four-stop variable aperture already gives the Camera app plenty to manage.
How to lock focus and exposure with the button
This is off by default. Turn it on once in Settings and the button becomes a half-press shutter lock similar to a dedicated camera.
- Go to Settings, Camera, Camera Control, then turn on Lock Focus and Exposure.
- Click the Camera Control to open Camera and frame your subject.
- Lightly press and hold the Camera Control until AE/AF Lock appears above the frame, and keep your finger on the button.
- Click to take the photo, or click and hold to record video.
- Lift your finger to release the lock.
Settings that change how Camera Control behaves
- Open with one or two clicks: Settings, Camera, Camera Control, then Single Click or Double Click. Double Click stops the camera opening in a pocket.
- Light-press pressure and double-press speed: both are adjustable under Accessibility, useful if the overlay keeps opening when you only meant to click.
- Open another app instead: Apple’s guide lets Camera Control launch Magnifier, Code Scanner or a third-party camera app rather than Camera.
- Visual intelligence: with Apple Intelligence on, a press-and-hold outside Camera brings up visual search. On iOS 27 this lives alongside the new Siri mode in Camera, which Apple’s iOS 27 page describes as visual search from the viewfinder.
The button also works with the manual aperture and shutter controls Apple introduced this year, though Apple has not published a support article for those yet. Our variable aperture explainer covers what the four f-stops do.
If Camera Control does not respond
- The overlay opens instead of shooting: you are pressing too lightly. A click needs a firmer press than the settings gesture, or lower the light-press sensitivity in Accessibility.
- Nothing happens when you click: check whether Double Click is selected in Settings, Camera, Camera Control.
- A setting is missing from the overlay: Apple says not all controls are available in all modes, and you may have removed it under Customize.
- AE/AF Lock never appears: the Lock Focus and Exposure switch is off by default and has to be turned on first.
iPhone 18 Pro deliveries start Friday, September 18, and iOS 27 reaches older iPhones on September 14. Apple’s iOS 27 release date and what else changes in Camera are covered in our separate guide.
