With the fifth beta of iOS 18.1, Apple has made a small tweak to the Camera Control button that was introduced on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
When you dig into the Camera Control settings, there is now a way to set it to the front-facing camera without having to interact with the iPhone's display.
To get to the selfie camera, open up the Camera app with a press on the Camera Control button, and then use a swipe gesture on the button to scroll through the lenses. The person icon at the very top swaps to the front-facing selfie camera.
Note that if you have Camera Control set to a different setting, you will need to open up the Camera app, activate Camera Control, and then tap on the screen to swap tools. The selfie camera and lens options are under the "Cameras" heading. The last tool you used will be the tool Camera Control opens with.
Prior to iOS 18.1, you could use this gesture to swipe through the different lens options, like 0.5x, 1x, 2x, and 5x (Pro only), but now it also includes the selfie camera to make it easier to get to all of the available lens options.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
I'm also surprised why such a seemingly simple concept wasn't already part of iOS 18.0 when released as general release. Why would it wait until iOS 18.1?
I'm also surprised why such a seemingly simple concept wasn't already part of iOS 18.0 when released as general release. Why would it wait until iOS 18.1?
the most useful function would have been to add a “Focus” button. Where I can slide the focus around or at least push the button instead of reaching for and tapping the screen honestly the use ive had for it is for adjusting EV. Highly highly recommend turning off “Clean Preview“ in Settings. Not sure why this is on by default.
Read this like 5 times and I still don't understand what that even means ? so far I only use this button to open the camera, everything else seems too complicated for something that is already shown on the screen anyway. The few times I tried it, it made my photos blurry because I was ever so slightly shaking the phone when I pushed the button. I also have a hard time differenciating between a press to take a photo and a press to get to the different options and don't care enough to figure it out either
You do realise it will takes ages to get to that option when where your thumb is on the screen is to switch to selfie cam, so why would any one use the camera button which will take a while to get to that option
