Lights! Camera! Action button!

Unlike some, I like the new Camera Control button on the iPhone 16.

Lots of people are complaining the new button is fiddly and hard to use, but I find it great for launching the camera and snapping a quick pic. (The other part — zooming, changing lenses or photo styles — is admittedly difficult to master).

But I’m ashamed to say that I never realized I already had a button for quickly snapping pics on my iPhone 15 Pro, which i never used — the Action button.

The iPhone 15’s Action button can be set up to open the Camera app and then snap a pic.

I kinda knew this, but was too lazy to train myself to use it. Plus, I always felt the Action button is on the wrong side for photography — which Apple has fixed with the placement of the Camera Control button.

In fact, I never used the Action button that much, and still don’t.

However, I’ve since found a great use for it: Shazam.

I frequently hear music out in public I’m curious about, but by the time I fish my phone from my pocket, unlock it, find and open the Shazam app, and then tap ‘Listen,’ the moment has gone.

But I’ve now set the Action button to Shazam, and it’s much quicker. (The other quick way to launch Shazam is to use Siri, which works just as well).

What I should really do is set up the Action button to launch a Shortcut to do something more complex, like quickly add an item to my grocery list — as our writer, D Griffin Jones has done.

Thanks to Shortcuts, the Action button is vastly customizable. It can be set up to do a surprising number of handy functions. Here’s how to make the Action button do something useful.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• The cool case isn’t the only reason to check out these new ANC earbuds from budget audio-maker SoundCore — the ANC is much improved, and they likely sound great.

• Apple TV+ ended the hit show Ted Lasso after three seasons — or has it?

• If you’re looking for an iPad with a big, beautiful screen, this refurbished 12.9-inch iPad Pro is just $399.99.

• If you sometimes misplace your charger, check out our hands-on review of the new PlugBug wall charger with FindMy support.

• One of my most frequently-used apps is Notes. Apple added a bunch of new features in iOS 18, including stuff like automatic transcripts of audio notes. Here’s all the handy new features in Notes and how to use them.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from Cult of Mac Deals team}

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