The Camera Button Won Me Over (Sorry, Apple Intelligence)

I bought the Apple 16 Pro Max as soon as it came out because I was excited about the Apple Intelligence announcement at WWDC 2024. Yeah, I drank the Kool-Aid, but as an early adopter of ChatGPT, I wanted to experience Apple's version of AI as soon as possible. In fact, I started doing something risky by running the Developer Beta preview builds on my daily driver, the 16 Pro Max. But honestly, the cool pink-blue outline around the screen's border when I activated Siri was the highlight of iOS 18.x for me.

However, the real winning feature after upgrading from my 14 Pro Max to the 16 Pro Max is the new physical camera button. With just two clicks of this button, I can take a picture, which is a game-changer. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you, and guess what, I always have my phone. Last weekend, when I went snowboarding, I took so many pictures and videos of my kids with ease, thanks to the simple click of the capacitive touch camera button. Thank you, Apple, for adding this useful feature to an already amazing phone.

As for the action button introduced with the Apple 15, I'm still not sure what to do with it.

And that little admission is where this whole thing gets interesting to me.

Here I was, ready to upgrade my entire phone over an AI feature. That was the pitch. That was the reason I clicked buy. And the AI, the thing I was most excited about, ended up being the part I use the least. Meanwhile the feature that actually changed how I use the phone every single day is a button. A physical button on the side. About as low-tech as it gets.

Funny how that works.

I think there's a real lesson in there about the gap between what we think will matter and what actually matters once it's in our hands. The flashy headline feature grabs you at the keynote. The confetti, the demo, the pink-blue glow around Siri. It's exciting, and I'm a sucker for it, I will freely admit that. But the thing that earns a permanent spot in your daily life is usually smaller and quieter, and it wins by removing friction, not by adding sparkle.

The camera button does exactly that. Before, taking a picture meant waking the phone, swiping to the camera, framing the shot, tapping the screen. Four little steps. Individually nothing, but together just enough friction that I'd miss the moment. My kid does something great on the slope, and by the time I've fumbled my way to the camera, the moment is gone.

Two clicks. That's it now. My kid drops in, two clicks, and I have the shot and the video. I captured more of last weekend than I would have with any amount of on-device AI, and I did it without thinking about it. That's the tell for me. The best features are the ones you stop noticing because they just work.

Which brings me back to that poor, lonely action button.

Two generations in now, and I still have not found a job for it. And I've come to peace with something: that's okay. Not every feature is going to be for me, and I don't need to force it. I'd rather have one button I use a hundred times a day than three buttons I feel obligated to justify. The action button is a solution looking for a problem I apparently do not have, and that's fine.

So here's where I've landed after a few months with the 16 Pro Max.

I came for the AI. I stayed for a camera shutter button. And I'm still ignoring the action button, and I've made my peace with it.

If you're on the fence about upgrading, my honest take is this: don't do it for Apple Intelligence, at least not yet. Do it if you take a lot of photos of your life and you want them to be easier to grab. That camera button is the kind of small, practical upgrade that sneaks up on you and quietly becomes the thing you can't imagine giving up.

And really, isn't that the good stuff? Not the feature they put on the billboard, but the little one that just makes your day a bit smoother.

Two clicks and done. Thank you, Apple.