- You can now replace the iPhone’s lock-screen camera and flashlight buttons with other features.
- Launch your favorite camera without even having to unlock your iPhone first.
- This is yet another example of the EU’s rules benefitting everybody.
Love an amazing alternative camera app on your iPhone but hate that you can’t launch it directly from the Lock Screen with that little shortcut button? Well, hate no more!
iOS 18 is turning out to be a great update, with few headline features but lots of little tweaks that make using the iPhone easier and much more customizable. Now, you can swap out the functions of the flashlight and camera buttons on the Lock Screen and use them without having to unlock your iPhone—just like the built-in options. This is turning out to be one of the best new iOS 18 features.
“Being able to replace the default camera button on the lock screen with a camera app like Halide is a game-changer for iPhone photographers,” professional travel photographer Kevin Mercier told Lifewire via email. “As a professional photographer, I’ve been using Halide for a while because of its granular control over exposure, ISO, and focus. The fact that I can now launch it directly from the lock screen just seals the deal for me. I’m switching from the stock camera button to Halide as it’s faster and aligns with my needs as a photographer who wants the best quality without sacrificing speed.”
Swap Out
There are plenty of great camera apps for the iPhone, with extra features, manual control, more effects and filters, and so on. But until now, you’ve had to unlock the iPhone and launch the app to use them. Some apps already use lock-screen widgets as shortcuts, but you still need to unlock the iPhone to use them.
Given how perfect the iPhone is for grabbing quick images and videos, pulling it from a pocket or bag to snap a fleeting moment, this has been a severe drawback. The instinct in those moments is to just hit the little camera button on the Lock Screen because it is the fastest, most reliable way to not miss your shot.
“The new iPhone setup is becoming more compelling for casual or spontaneous photography. Given how accessible these apps are now right from the lock screen, I’ll likely use the iPhone 16 for behind-the-scenes shots or social media content during events,” Jeffrey Wang, a professional photographer and the Creative Director at Perfect Moment Photography and Video, told Lifewire via email.
I like the Halide camera app, and thanks to this new feature, I can set it as the camera app that launches when I hit that familiar button. This lets me capture all my images with Halide’s amazing Process Zero, which removes all the processing that makes iPhone photos look so artificial and gives much more detailed pictures.
One nice aspect of this new feature is that you can still quickly access the stock camera app by swiping left, just like always. I use this when I just need a dumb picture of a menu or other note or when I want to shoot a panorama or a video.
Camera Replacement?
This change can take your iPhone one step closer to replacing your regular purpose-made camera, thanks to being able to quickly shoot with your preferred app and settings. But not quite.
“That said, while I’m excited about this feature, it won’t entirely replace my professional camera setup. My Sony A7R IV still offers superior image quality, lens versatility, and the manual control that’s crucial for high-stakes shoots,” says Wang.
Quite. But for something that’s always in your pocket, the iPhone is now perfect for many more situations.
And it’s not just photography either. You can swap in all kinds of different functions. You could drop in Instagram, set a timer, toggle a hotspot or airplane mode, or skip to the next album while listening to music. And so on.
The flashlight button is also up for grabs. I’ve put an audio-recording app in that spot so I can capture interesting sounds and samples as quickly as I can capture photos. One tap and I’m recording, and all recordings are saved in iCloud. My preferred app is Just Press Record, and it seems like its name was just waiting for this moment to shine.
This customization is almost certainly a result of the European Union’s ongoing fight to make Apple open up its mobile platforms, promote competition, and offer users more choices. Apple and other Big Tech “gatekeepers” like Google and Meta are not allowed to give preferential treatment to their own apps and services.
Only offering the built-in camera app as an option for the lock-screen button was clearly preferential, and now that’s fixed, showing once again that competition, and more user control, are both beneficial to you and me, the actual owners of these devices. Regulation works, so let’s enjoy it.
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News Summary:
- iOS 18's Customizable Lock Screen Camera Button Is Just Amazing
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