iPhone 16 Pro rumored to get Capture Button with DSLR-style feature

While the iPhone 16 has been rumored to get a photo Capture Button for some time, it is now rumored to feature an auto-focus option as well as a simple press-to-shoot.

Rumors of a Capture Button have persisted since around September 2023, with one report in January 2024 saying that it could be pressure-sensitive. A brief new leak on Chinese social media site Weibo claims to confirm this, and also to say what the pressure sensitivity will be used for.

Weibo user Instant Digital says, in translation, that the sensitivity is "consistent with the shooting... function of the camera."

"[Users will] gently press to focus and re-press to shoot," the claim continues. "With the addition of this button, the direction of the mobile phone is completely in the direction of photography."

While the latter point is made awkwardly by machine translation, what it means is that this would give the iPhone 16 Pro the same kind of physical control that a DSLR camera has. It also means that Instant Digital believes that this is yet another step that takes the iPhone closer to a professional camera.

This backs up claims that the Capture Button would be pressure sensitive, but those reports suggest it could also be touch-sensitive. It's surmised that touch sensitivity would let a user alter zoom levels right on the button.

The number and specificity of rumors around a Capture Button are sufficient that one seems possible, if not also likely. There is, though, no indication from Instant Digital of the source of its claim.

Separately, there have been other rumors concerning camera improvements, as well as a larger display.