Earlier this fall, the world got a sneak peek at the newest iPhone 16 features, but many are unaware that Android’s have had some of this tech for years.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone16 Pro had a flashy launch in September, as Tim Cook and company showed off Apple’s latest and greatest smartphones. These upgraded models bring some eyebrow-raising improvements over last year’s iPhone 15 series, including beefy new chips, forthcoming AI features, and a camera shutter button called Camera Control. But as everyone knows, the best artists take plenty of inspiration from others, and so, too, does the iPhone.
As someone who’s been documenting Android’s big changes over its lifespan, it’s clear to me that several features new to the iPhone lineup this year will feel rather familiar to long-time Android users. Though it might be tempting for Android fans to score some points against iPhone fans in Reddit debates by pointing this out, it’s more useful to look at how Apple has implemented the features pioneered by Android phones. Apple may have a habit of copying features, but it tends to do so with a considered, thoughtful approach.
In fact, both the iPhone and various Android phones have always taken some degree of inspiration from one another. To name but a single example of this symbiotic relationship, Apple got rid of the home button on the iPhone X a few years after Android introduced on-screen navigation with Ice Cream Sandwich. Android then added gesture controls in Android 10 to iterate on Apple’s buttonless navigation.
The iPhone 16 continues in this tradition of cyclical innovation, taking inspiration from more than a few features that Android phones have adopted over the years. As usual, Apple may be late to the party, but it showed up with flowers; many of the features the iPhone 16 cribs from its competition are refined compared to them, proving that being first isn’t everything. Here are six iPhone 16 features that Android phones have had for years.Camera buttons were once popular on Android phones
One of the most exciting iPhone 16 features is a single hardware button Apple calls the Camera Control. This combination capacitive and physical button sits on the side of the phone and can be used to interact with the camera (and certain other apps) in unique ways. Users can adjust zoom and other settings, half-press to focus the camera, and more. But while it may be one of the most refined implementations of a camera button that we’ve seen in recent memory, it’s not exactly new to those who know how common camera buttons used to be on Android phones.
For instance, my first Android smartphone was an LG Optimus V that I bought prepaid on Virgin Mobile. Despite it being a rather entry-level device with a 3.2MP camera released all the way back in 2011, it came with a camera button planted proudly on its side. While that button couldn’t do some of the fancy, haptic tricks Apple’s 2024 implementation of the feature can, it was handy for snapping quick shots of my high school adventures, and it still works today. On the other end of the spectrum were devices like the Samsung Galaxy Camera, which was essentially a camera strapped onto an Android phone. Suffice to say: it had a camera button.
Camera buttons remained standard on many Android phones for quite some time, though they fell out of fashion in the mid 2010s. Today, it’s extremely rare to see one, which is a shame. Thankfully, many Android manufacturers tend to take cues from the iPhone, so perhaps Apple will lead the way in repopularizing this feature and making it better than ever.Apple is a bit late to AI features
Like it or not, the tech industry has gone gonzo for AI, with seemingly every company trying to get in on the arms race to stuff your phone full of features that range from useful to perplexing to downright broken. Much like it has been many times throughout history, Android has been the testing ground for these new technologies before Apple stepped in to deliver a (hopefully) more refined experience with its forthcoming Apple Intelligence features.
