iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro to bring ONE big change over iPhone 17: Check expected launch timeline

The rumour now says that Apple is planning a significant redesign of the camera Control button to cut down on manufacturing costs.

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The rumoured iPhone 17 launch may only be a few weeks away, but the industry has already started talking about the next one – the iPhone 18. We already have a fair idea of the launch schedule of the 2026 flagship iPhones and how it is going to encourage more users to buy the more expensive models with different launch windows. However, a new leak now reveals how Apple could give one more reason for existing iPhone users to upgrade to the new model with a feature that nobody probably cares about.

The leak talks about the Camera Control button – a feature that is seldom talked about in Apple’s universe. Introduced with the iPhone 16 series, the Camera Control key is essentially a physical button that can also read finger gestures to be used in the camera app. Early rumours had hinted at Apple doing away with the button entirely, but now, it seems that Apple is having second thoughts. The Camera Control key could stay, although in a different form. 

iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro to get simpler Camera Control button

The rumour now says that Apple is planning a significant redesign of the camera Control button to cut down on manufacturing costs. The speculation began with a leak from a Weibo-based source, ‘OvO,’ who claimed that Apple was cutting component orders for the button, hinting at its potential removal in the 2026 iPhone models. 

However, this claim was quickly countered by another leaker, ‘Instant Digital,’ who has a more reliable track record with Apple leaks. According to the source, the Camera Control is being redesigned to take care of its high manufacturing cost and complexity. The current button, which includes both capacitive and pressure-sensing capabilities, is reportedly expensive to produce and repair. 

The new design is said to remove the capacitive component, making the button solely pressure-sensitive. This change is expected to lower production costs for Apple while maintaining the same user functionality, including touch, long-press, and swiping gestures.

iPhone 18: What else do we know about it?

A previous rumour hinted at how Apple is planning to split the launch schedule of iPhones from 2026 in a bid to hog the news and reap more profits. Starting 2026, Apple is rumoured to launch only the iPhone 18 Air, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max in September 2026. The regular iPhone 18 is expected to launch along with the more accessible iPhone 18e in March 2027, thus keeping the more affordable models to drive sales in Q2 2027. 

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This article was first uploaded on August twenty-three, twenty twenty-five, at twenty-six minutes past five in the evening.
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