iPhone 16 camera shutter button trend: Android brands follow Apple's Lead

Leaked document from OPPO's camp suggests that its Find X8 series will feature camera shutter button

Tech Desk - Sep 11, 2024

A still image of Live Demo of Apple iPhone 16 Pro shutter button held on September 9 at Apple Park in Cupertino. — Screengrab via YouTube Apple channel

Apple has just brought back the shutter button on its recently launched flagship iPhone 16 series at the “It’s Glowtime” event. However, now Android brands are joining hands with Nubia and OPPO bringing a shutter button in their upcoming devices.

What's such a big deal about camera shutter button?

The camera shutter button allows more intuitive and tactile control in taking photos. It's a two-stage key, which enables a user to focus with a half-press and capture with a full press. It was popular with older smartphones but had disappeared these last years.

Nubia's take on-camera shutter button

Ni Fei president Nubia has now confirmed on Weibo that the new Nubia Z70 Ultra will indeed have a far more realistic camera button.

This two-stage key will introduce a more traditional way to capture images, much like the Apple Camera Control key.

OPPO Quick Button

A leaked document from OPPO's camp suggests that its Find X8 series will also feature a camera shutter button, which the company has called Quick Button. That said, this will supposedly let users "freeze the action" with the said press of the button. It is yet to be seen if this button supports swipe gestures too as Apple's version does.

While the camera shutter button made its widespread adoption with Apple's iPhone 16 series, Android smartphones have had this feature in the past.

Sony has continued to use a two-stage capture key in their recent Xperia 1 VI and before that, too, but Apple's added swipe gestures bring new life into that old-school feature.

Camera shutter button for Android: What one should expect

This is what we can expect from this feature as the various brands of Android will start using it- and probably offer features similar to the Camera Control key Apple uses.

That includes two-stage keys and possibly even swipe gestures for things like zooming in and out. In particular, the series everyone's waiting for is the OPPO Find X8, said to pack a 10x telephoto camera.