00:04Apple introduced camera control with the iPhone 16 series, and it looks set to remain a feature
00:07of the iPhone for many generations to come. This touch-sensitive strip lets you quickly
00:11access your iPhone's camera app, and as well as doubling as a shutter, it can be used to
00:14adjust things like exposure, zoom and depth of field. But there's much more to camera control
00:18than meets the eye. In classic Apple style, the feature can be customised to suit your specific
00:22needs, and in this guide we'll show you how to launch camera control faster, change the default
00:26camera control app, tweak click speed and force, and lock focus and exposure.
00:32By default, pressing the camera control button when your iPhone's screen is off will wake up your
00:36iPhone, but if you prefer, you can make it so OnePress instantly launches the camera even if
00:40your phone's display is dimmed. To do this, open the settings app on your iPhone and go to camera,
00:44then camera control. Once there, disable the toggle next to require screen on. Now pressing the camera
00:49control once will always open the camera app even if your iPhone's screen is off. If you'd prefer a
00:53double click, navigate to the camera control menu in settings and under launch camera, select double
00:57click. With this method, pressing the camera control button twice will instantly open the camera app
01:01even if your screen is dimmed.
01:05In its basic state, camera control opens Apple's own camera app, but if you prefer, you can have it
01:10launch a third party camera app instead. To do this, head to settings, then camera, then camera control.
01:14Tap camera again at the top of the page and you'll see a list of downloaded apps that are compatible
01:18with camera control.
01:20Pick your chosen app and it will now launch whenever you press the camera control button.
01:29By default, camera control requires a fairly substantial amount of force to be activated,
01:33but if this doesn't work for you, you can decrease or increase the amount of force required in settings.
01:37Once again, head to the settings app, go to camera, camera control and then accessibility.
01:43You'll now see three sections, light press force, double light press speed and double click speed.
01:48You can toggle the first option to require a lighter or firmer press than the default,
01:52while the other two let you change the press speed to slow or slower.
01:55If you're not sure which options you prefer, Apple has included a handy interactive test
01:59image so you can see how your chosen changes feel. Once you've adjusted some settings,
02:02pressing the camera control toggle will light up a camera control image to show you it's activated,
02:07helping you to understand the force and speed needed once you've made your changes.
02:13Sometimes it's useful to lock your camera's focus and exposure, and this is especially true if you're
02:17taking several photos of the same subject or you want to focus on a particular area. Well,
02:21camera control lets you do that too. Open the settings app, then head to camera and camera control.
02:26Near the bottom of the screen, enable the toggle next to lock focus and exposure.
02:30Now, press the camera control to launch your iPhone's camera. Lightly press and hold the camera
02:34control for a few seconds and you'll see the words AE-AF lock appear at the top of the screen.
02:38As long as your finger remains on the camera control button, your focus and exposure are now locked.
02:42Then, simply press it to take a photo. To unlock focus and exposure,
02:45simply lift your finger off the camera control toggle. And there you have it,
02:48four ways to customise camera control that make it easier to use and a bit more functional.
02:52Are you a fan of camera control or would you rather Apple swap it for something more useful?
02:55Let us know in the comments below.
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