iOS 18 Adds Control Center Options to Action Button on iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models have an Action button in place of the Ring/Silent switch on older iPhones, and iOS 18 makes it even more useful.

iOS 18 Control Center Toggles for Action Button FeatureScreenshot Credit: Aaron Perris

iOS 18 allows the Action button to be assigned to one of the dozens of controls available in the new Control Center gallery, allowing the Action button to invoke Dark Mode, Airplane Mode, Personal Hotspot, and more. Options like Low Power Mode and Orientation Lock do not appear to be available as of iOS 18 beta 1, but the Shortcut action already allows the Action button to be assigned to those options if desired.

These new options are in addition to the actions that were already available for the Action button on iOS 17, including Ring/Silent, Do Not Disturb, Camera, Flashlight, Voice Memo, Magnifier, Translate, Shortcut, and Accessibility. Some of the new Control Center options were already possible with the Shortcut or Accessibility options.

It has been rumored that the Action button will be expanded to all four iPhone 16 models later this year, so these new controls will come to even more devices.

iOS 18 is currently in beta and should be released in September.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 27, 2024 5:05 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in early December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as...
iphone 16 pro models 1

12 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Friday November 29, 2024 5:17 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Rectangle Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Already Rumored to Have These 8 New Features

Wednesday November 27, 2024 12:19 pm PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch for 10 more months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. An imaginative iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models so far: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro ...
Whatsapp Feature

WhatsApp to Drop Support for These iPhones Starting May 2025

Monday December 2, 2024 2:57 am PST by
WhatsApp is set to end support for iOS versions older than iOS 15.1 from May next year, removing the chat platform's compatibility with several iPhone models in the process. From May 5, 2025, WhatsApp will no longer be compatible with iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus models. Users with those devices won't be able to access the encrypted chat service after the specified date unless they ...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 17 Designs Revealed!

Friday November 29, 2024 9:34 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the recently leaked design of the iPhone 17 "Air" and iPhone 17 Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, a report from The Information's Wayne Ma revealed that the iPhone 17 Air will have a thickness of between 5mm and 6mm, which would make it the thinnest iPhone ever. In comparison, iPhone ...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Apple AI Command Center Concept Mock 3

Apple Expected to Launch This All-New Device Next Year

Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March. The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Cyber Monday Deals Feature 2022

Apple Cyber Week Deals Available Now: AirPods, iPads, and More

Sunday December 1, 2024 7:52 am PST by
Although Black Friday has ended, Cyber Week is here and you can find great deals on numerous Apple devices right now. This includes big savings on AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook Air, iPad, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Specifically,...

Top Rated Comments

kalafalas Avatar
25 weeks ago
ORIENTATION LOCK YYYYAAAAAASSSS

dang I might have to ruin my life and install the beta on my main

edit: seems the writer was wrong :/ oh well. I use shortcuts right now, but I was hoping for something a bit more native with synced haptics and stuff
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kirky29 Avatar
25 weeks ago
This is pretty cool, I now wish you could change the volume up and down buttons to whatever, I'd be happy to control my volume manually from control centre and have, say, my volume up button as orientation lock, and volume down as quick access to the home app. Or something like that!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
25 weeks ago

ORIENTATION LOCK YYYYAAAAAASSSS

dang I might have to ruin my life and install the beta on my main
I wrote the MacRumors story, and unfortunately I made an error. I thought the Action button could be assigned to ANY control in the Control Center gallery, but it turns out that options like Orientation Lock and Low Power Mode are not available, at least as of iOS 18 beta 1.

Truly sorry to get your hopes up! I messed up that one.

EDIT: But as the comment below me pointed out, you can already map the Action button to Orientation Lock via Shortcuts on iOS 17, so the end result is still completely possible.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FishyFish Avatar
25 weeks ago
But no way to use the button to actually just bring up Control Center which would be the most useful shortcut of all.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrat93 Avatar
25 weeks ago

This is pretty cool, I now wish you could change the volume up and down buttons to whatever, I'd be happy to control my volume manually from control centre and have, say, my volume up button as orientation lock, and volume down as quick access to the home app. Or something like that!
Anytime there’s an article about the Action Button, I’m reminded of the Jailbreak app Activator from over 10 years ago. You could assign literally over 100 actions systemwide similarly. It is so sad that Apple is restricting this to one action for one button.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleInLVX Avatar
25 weeks ago
I feel like between adding things to control center, colorizing app icons, and making the Action button more robust, I'll finally be able to reach minimal iPhone using only native functionality, and that will be lovely.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)