In modern devices, we are slowly but surely starting to get more buttons. The year 2007 showed that it is possible even without them, when the first iPhone 2G had only the most important ones, i.e. the power button, the desktop button, the volume switch and the volume control. Apple but now they are changing a lot.
It started with Apple Watch Ultra, which added an Action button providing quick access to certain watch functions. It continued despite changing the volume rocker to the Action button even on the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple here he actually adopted the philosophy established in the Ultras and made the one-purpose element significantly more useful. And now there is another element on the agenda that we expect in the iPhones 16.
Back to the roots?
The beauty of the first iPhone was that it got rid of the keyboard. Although the move was condemned by many, the subsequent trend was clear. With the iPhone X, the Surface button also disappeared, leaving only the power button and volume control. At one time it was even speculated that the mechanical buttons had it calculated and Apple replace them with sensory ones. However, this has not yet happened and it looks more like the opposite is the case.
But since the Action button has some utility, Samsung has added it to its Galaxy Watch Ultra as well. For years, his watch only offered two buttons, but now it has three. Even in smartphones, we see that there are more buttons on them. For example, the OnePlus Open has it for switching between privacy modes, and it's only a question of when Samsung will expand their line, just to copy the popular Apple.
However, iPhones 16 will bring a Capture button, which will primarily control photography. We've lived without it for 17 years, and we certainly don't need it now either, but it seems that manufacturers are running out of ideas on where to innovate their hardware, so they're going back to what they used to abandon, i.e. physical buttons. Whether it will cause a new trend or a dead end is difficult to judge when we do not yet know its form or exact functionality.
If it really comes and if it is really focused on the Camera, we will have four buttons here that allow taking pictures - the Capture button, the Action button, the volume up button and the volume down button. So let's just hope that instead of everyone we don't keep pressing it to turn off the display. It will depend a lot on its ideal location on the iPhone frame.