What Can You Do With the iPhone’s Action Button? Nearly Anything!

Starting with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Apple replaced the Ring/Silent switch on the top-left edge of the iPhone with the Action button, making the new button standard across the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 lineups in subsequent years. The Action button is a dedicated hardware button you can configure to perform one of many different tasks. Although Apple prompts everyone setting up a new iPhone to configure the Action button, our experience is that many people haven’t integrated it into their everyday usage.

Taking advantage of the Action button isn’t hard, but there are obstacles. The Ring/Silent switch had only one function, whereas the Action button offers so many options that it’s easy to fall prey to decision paralysis. Also, because the Action button is configurable, it behaves differently even if you leave it set to Silent Mode. The Ring/Silent switch was a physical switch that also showed its state with an orange indicator. With the Action button, you can’t tell at a glance if Silent Mode is on, and activating it requires a relatively long press-and-hold. Finally, the Action button’s ultimate power lies in its Controls and Shortcuts options, but many users are unaware of the wide-ranging possibilities these unlock.

So let’s look at how to make the most of the Action button. To configure the Action button, go to Settings > Action Button and swipe through the choices. The choice on screen when you exit Settings will be active. Although there are no bad choices here, many of the options Apple provides can be activated just as easily through Control Center or Siri, so you might not want to dedicate the Action button to them.

Silent Mode: Toggle call and alert sounds on and off. This is the default setting, but unless you regularly need to toggle the ringer, it’s not worth dedicating the Action button to such a seldom-used option. You can toggle Silent Mode in Control Center just as easily.
Focus: Activate or switch Focus modes such as Do Not Disturb. We recommend using Focus sparingly because it can block desired notifications, but if you’re a fan, the Action button might be a good way to switch between them. Focus modes are also easy to select in Control Center and turn on with “Siri, turn on Do Not Disturb.”
Camera: Launch the Camera app. If your iPhone has the Camera Control (as do all Action button-equipped models except the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 16e), the Camera Control is the best way to open the Camera, but the Action button might still be helpful for opening the Camera app to a specific mode: Photo, Selfie, Video, Portrait, or Portrait Selfie.
Visual Intelligence: Launch Apple’s AI-powered object recognition feature. Again, pressing and holding the Camera Control (if available) is a better way to access Visual Intelligence.
Flashlight: Turn the flashlight on or off. This may be a good choice if you use the flashlight regularly, but if so, you’re probably already accustomed to tapping its icon on the iPhone’s Lock Screen. If your hands are too full, try “Siri, turn on the flashlight.”
Voice Memo: Start recording audio in the Voice Memos app. If you use Voice Memos heavily, you may like this use of the Action button. Alternatively, just say, “Siri, record a voice memo.”
Recognize Music: Use Shazam to identify music that’s playing nearby or on your iPhone. Another way to invoke Shazam quickly is to ask, “Siri, what’s playing?”
Translate: Starts listening to translate between the default languages you set up in the Translate app. This use of the Action button is a great shortcut if you’re traveling in another country and need quick translations, but most people don’t need it every day.
Magnifier: Launch the Magnifier app to make it easier to see tiny text and small objects. Those with low vision may particularly appreciate this use of the Action button, but the Magnifier app is also easily accessed from a Control Center button or by saying, “Siri, open Magnifier.”
Controls: Invoke any Control Center control. Here’s where things get interesting! Starting with iOS 18, iPhone apps can create controls in Control Center. With the Controls option, you can choose any available control, so you could have the Action button start a ChatGPT conversation, add a task to TickTick, create a new event in BusyCal, or myriad other options. We strongly encourage you to scroll through the available controls to see if any catch your interest.
Shortcut: Activate any custom Shortcut for personalized actions. The previous Controls choice is brilliant, but what if you want even more options? With Shortcuts, you can create custom actions that can even leverage multiple apps to do exactly what you want. For instance, you could create a shortcut that takes a photo of an expense receipt and sends it to a specific email address, all triggered by a long press on the Action button. The sky is the limit here.
Accessibility: Quick access to accessibility features like VoiceOver, Zoom, Speak Screen, Apple Watch Mirroring, Live Captions, Conversation Boost, and more. Don’t assume these options are only for people with disabilities; many have broader utility.
No Action: The final option is No Action, which is useful only if you accidentally press the Action button frequently and don’t want it to do anything.

So there you have it! If you’re not currently using the Action button, take a spin through the available options to see which can make a difference in your everyday iPhone experience.

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: Your iPhone’s Action button can do much more than toggle Silent Mode. Try it for quick translations or voice memos—or explore the many options in Controls and Shortcuts to trigger nearly any action with a long press.

Hey Dora…

April 15, 2016

So we have Siri and I’ve been playing around with Alexa (don’t tell Grace!) but now I have Dora, too. Dora is the computer from Robert Heinlein’s Time Enough for Love, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls which were some of my favorite Sci-Fi as a kid.

I was helping a customer that has pretty bad arthritis and struggled to use the keyboard. I was straightening out her email and getting her off of AOL (something we do often!) and noticed how difficult it was to type a simple email. So, I showed her dictation on the Mac and wow, it was like a light just got switched on. Dictation has come a long way and if your are on Mavericks, Yosemite or El Capitan, Apple’s enhanced dictation works wonderfully.

Dictation will not be a satisfying experience for you if you have a lot of noise in the room, i.e. other people talking, music, etc, but if you are working alone in a relatively quiet environment it can be a great tool not only for dictating that email but you can also use spoken commands to direct your Mac to take action.

Setting up Enhanced Dictation

* Open System Preferences, then click on Dictation & Speech. Turn on Dictation and set up your options.

* Click *Use Enhanced Dictation*. This will download a 1.2GB file so that you can dictate without internet connection.

* Choose your language and dialect. Some languages, such as English, have multiple dialects.

* Choose the keyboard shortcut you will use to signal that you’re ready to start dictating. The default is pressing the function Fn key twice, which I find convenient but you can customize it.

* Choose your preferred microphone from the pop-up menu below the microphone icon. Normally, you use the internal microphone but if you are using a headset or external microphone you can choose that.

Using Dictation

* Go to a document or other text field and place the insertion point where you want your dictated text to appear.

* Press the keyboard shortcut for starting dictation. The default shortcut is Fn Fn (press the Fn key twice). Or choose Edit > Start Dictation. When your Mac is listening, it displays a microphone with an input meter that rises and falls as you speak.

* Speak the words that you want your Mac to type. Use dictation commands to add punctuation, formatting, and more.

* To stop dictating, click Done below the microphone icon, or press Fn, or switch to another window.

The more you use Dictation, the better it understands you. Dictation learns the characteristics of your voice and adapts to your accent.

I will go into some of the more enhanced features like Dictation Commands in next week’s Kibbles & Bytes but I can tell Dora to Open an App, select text, move up or down and much more. I think you will like dictation on the Mac, give it a try!