How to Use the Action Button on the iPhone 16, iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max

Apple unveiled the brand new physical Action button in 2023 exclusively on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, allowing you to quickly turn certain settings off and on without having to dig around on your screen. 

This year, Apple again introduced a new button -- the Camera Control button -- for the entire iPhone 16 series, but the company also brought the Action button to all the iPhone 16 non-Pro models, as well.

If you've got an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max, or recently purchased any of the iPhone 16 models, like the iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max, then you might be wondering what you can actually do with the Action button.

 Is it useful and worth the hype or is it better to just leave it be?

Here's everything you need to know about the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16. For more, check out all the ways the new Camera Control button will change how you take photos on the iPhone 16 and one of the best features on the iPhone 16.

Apple first added the Action button to the two Pro models of the iPhone 15 series -- the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max -- and now it's on the entire iPhone 16 series. The Action button replaced the ring-silent switch that's been on the iPhone for years, offering more settings adjustments than just silencing your device. It sits on the top left of your phone, right above the volume controls.

What can you do with the Action button on the iPhone?

If you go into your settings, you can choose which function you want the Action button to perform when you press it: 

• Switch between silent mode and ring mode
• Turn on do not disturb and other focus modes
• Open the Camera app
• Turn on the flashlight
• Record a voice memo
• Recognize music with Shazam
• Translate a conversation you're having with someone
• Turn your phone into a magnifying glass to zoom in on objects near you
• Quickly access your favorites in the control center (calculator, alarm, dark mode, etc.)
• Run a shortcut
• Use an accessibility feature

You can even choose to select no action, so that the button doesn't do anything when you press it.

How to configure the Action button

By default, the Action button will switch between silent mode and ring mode when you press it. 

If you want to change what the button does, go into Settings > Action Button and swipe through the carousel of options that are available. If a certain setting has variations, you'll see a button underneath with arrows; if you tap it, you'll bring up a menu of options.

For example, the camera setting can open your camera in photo, selfie, video, portrait and portrait selfie mode. With the accessibility setting, you can choose to enable color filters, reduce motion sickness when you're in the car, turn on magnifier and more. The control center setting lets you start your stopwatch, set an alarm, enable dark mode, turn on airplane mode and more.

Is that all you can do with the Action button?

Yes, but if you know your way around the Shortcuts application, you can get creative and make the Action button do pretty much whatever you want. In the Shortcuts app, you can create shortcuts to quickly perform an action and then use it with the Action button.

You can create a shortcut to use ChatGPT with Siri, which we have a guide on doing. You can also create a shortcut to get the Circle to Search feature on your iPhone, too.

Read more: You Can Get Google's Circle to Search AI Feature on Your iPhone. Here's How

And if you don't want to create your own shortcut, there are a bunch of pre-set shortcuts in the app, and better yet, you can download third-party shortcuts from RoutineHub, Reddit and other websites. You can use these third-party shortcuts to download videos from X (formerly Twitter), generate complicated passwords, bypass paywalls and so much more, and then port these shortcuts to your action button.

For more, check out why you don't need the new Camera Control button to quickly snap a photo on your iPhone.