iPhone 16 Pro Review: Is the Camera Control Button Actually Useful?
- Review, Hardware, Technology
- Exienent
- · Updated
Yes, the iPhone 16 Pro's Camera Control button is actually useful, especially for one-handed shooting, though it takes a few days to get used to. Combined with better battery life from the A18 Pro chip and improved thermal management, the iPhone 16 Pro is a strong upgrade for anyone on an iPhone 13 Pro or older, and an incremental one for iPhone 14 Pro owners and newer.
Every September, the hype machine spins up, promising revolutionary features and life-changing upgrades. For anyone who uses their phone as a primary work tool, a camera for family memories, and essentially an extension of their arm, it pays to look past the marketing. This review skips the spec-sheet recital and focuses on how the iPhone 16 Pro feels in everyday use.
Is the iPhone 16 Pro's Camera Control Button Worth It?
Yes, though with a slight learning curve. The new Camera Control button on the side is the most obvious physical change, and Apple made a huge deal about it, essentially adding a dedicated, capacitive shutter button to the iPhone.
It's easy to be skeptical about whether the iPhone needs another button. But the appeal of the Camera Control isn't just that it takes a photo; it's the tactile feedback and the swipe gestures. A light press brings up the zoom controls, and swiping your finger across the button smoothly glides through the focal lengths. It can feel very satisfying, almost like using a dedicated point-and-shoot camera.
- When it's great: Taking one-handed photos. If you are holding a coffee in one hand and trying to snap a picture of your dog doing something funny with the other, the Camera Control is a lifesaver. You don't have to awkwardly contort your thumb to tap the screen.
- When it's frustrating: It takes a few days to get the pressure right. Pressing too hard while trying to adjust the exposure can accidentally fire off a burst of blurry photos.
Overall, it's a net positive. It makes jumping into the camera app and framing a shot significantly faster.
How Good Is the iPhone 16 Pro's Battery Life?
Battery life is noticeably better than previous Pro models. That matters most on days spent out relying on your phone for navigation and tickets, when watching the percentage plummet into the red by mid-afternoon is the worst feeling.
The improvement comes from the combination of a slightly larger battery and the efficiency of the new A18 Pro chip. On a heavy-use day—lots of GPS navigation, streaming Spotify on 5G, taking dozens of photos, and answering emails—it can make it to bedtime with charge to spare, where older phones may have you scrambling for a charger by dinner. It's not "two-day battery life," but it can be "one-very-long-day battery life," which I think is the standard that really matters for a phone.
Does the Bigger 6.3-Inch Screen Make a Difference?
Only a little in daily use. The iPhone 16 Pro bumped the screen size up to 6.3 inches (from 6.1 inches on previous Pro models), mostly by shrinking the bezels around the edge of the display.
Side by side with an older model, the difference is immediately visible. The bezels are razor-thin, making the phone look sleek and futuristic.
In day-to-day use, however, it's not a night-and-day difference. A tiny bit more screen real estate is nice for reading articles or watching videos, but it doesn't fundamentally change how you use the phone. The good news is that the phone's physical size hasn't drastically increased, so it still fits comfortably in a pocket and stays manageable with one hand.
Does the iPhone 16 Pro Still Overheat?
It runs noticeably cooler under load. One of the biggest gripes with previous models was how hot they got during intensive tasks, like playing a graphically demanding game or recording 4K video for more than a few minutes.
Apple clearly took the thermal issues seriously this year and redesigned the internal cooling architecture. During extended 4K 60fps recording, the phone can get warm without becoming uncomfortably hot to the touch, and it is less prone to aggressively dimming the screen to protect itself (a classic iPhone overheating defense mechanism).
Should You Buy the iPhone 16 Pro?
It depends on what you have now.
If you are coming from an iPhone 14 Pro or newer, the differences are incremental. The Camera Control is cool and the battery is better, but your current phone is likely still a beast.
If you are holding onto an iPhone 13 Pro or older, the iPhone 16 Pro is a phenomenal upgrade. The jump in battery life, the significantly improved low-light camera performance, the addition of USB-C, and the fun new Camera Control button make it feel like a completely new experience.
In my view, it's not a revolution, but it's a highly polished, very capable refinement of an already great device. For a tool you touch hundreds of times a day, that refinement is worth it.
