I prefer to squeeze it than tap it
When Apple announced the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max last year, I raised an eyebrow at the so-called Action button. While I like that Cupertino’s clever folks baked in more… errrr action into a somewhat redundant mute slider, I was less sold on the limitations of the button; after all, you could already use the volume buttons on previous iPhones to activate the camera app’s shutter.
But as I used the iPhone 15 Pro Max more, extolling the virtues of titanium and the overall near-perfect iPhone experience, I started to really love the action button.
I have it set to trigger the ‘torch’ option in iOS — aka the camera flash — and it’s surprisingly handy, especially on a Max phone. Before I’d have to swipe at the top of the phone to get the drop-down menu and then tap at the torch icon; if I happen to have wet hands (no not like that, live in rainy London) that wasn’t always easy.
So, the action button became a real boon in my life; that could be a sad reflection on my existence, but never mind.
However, as a tech journalist — or any journalist in general — I often find myself musing at quiet moments or during a commute. And today’s musing mixed with machinations over the Action button, triggered an unexpected thought.
