After finishing my first week with the Sony Xperia 1 IVI’ve noticed there’s one camera feature that I’ve come to use all the time – seriously, this thing is probably going to make its way onto our list of best camera phones when our full review is live, and I wonder what the iPhone 14 would be if it had it.
I’m talking about the physical camera shutter button, which is on the phone’s frame, which is similar to the button you have on real cameras. My photo game has been really shaken up by this addition, which is why I’ve become a bit obsessed with it.
I have yet to be convinced by the camera power on the iPhone 13 Pro Maxfound it inferior to the photography experience on other phones I’ve tested, such as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra — but I was beginning to think that if the new iPhones got a physical trigger button, they could rise above Samsung. This is why.
Why the physical trigger button is great
The Sony Xperia 1 IV’s physical trigger button is on the right side, near the fingerprint sensor – when you’re holding the device landscape to take a photo, this button is actually right where the shutter is on a good camera.
As you’d expect, you can press this button to take a photo, and using this feature instead of the on-screen button has a number of benefits.
On other smartphones, I often shoot crappy photos when the act of pressing the on-screen shutter button causes the phone to wobble or move a bit, ruining the framing. And if you’re not dependent on tapping the screen, you can hold the Xperia at a wider range of angles, and I’ve captured some experimental and interesting photos this way.
But the Sony Xperia 1 IV’s shutter button has another function that cameras have: pressing it partially will find focus, giving you a really handy way of making sure your subject is in full focus. Photographers will know that this tool is essential to making sure your photos look good.
There is another feature of this trigger that I also use a lot. Pressing it while the phone’s screen is off will automatically open the camera app – making it easy and quick to take a photo without unlocking your phone and launching the app.
With this, I’ve sometimes taken pictures of fast-paced events that I’d otherwise miss – I’m mostly talking about meeting cats and other pets in all honesty.
The Mark 4 isn’t the first Sony phone to have this button, but on the original Xperia 1, it had limited use – that’s certainly not the case with four phones.
Why the iPhone 14 could use this feature
As I mentioned before, I haven’t been particularly impressed with iPhone photography in the past – I don’t think they have the versatility and easy-to-use modes of Samsung or Xiaomi phones or the top-end photography smarts and features of Google or Xiaomi. Sony devices.
If the iPhone 14 had a physical shutter button for the camera, this wouldn’t change at all — while the features I discussed in the previous section are super useful, it would take more to impress me.
However, if Apple did Deciding to adopt this kind of helpful camera technology would show me that Apple was really serious about improving its photography game (something that camera switch rumors also suggest).
It would give me a sense of confidence that Apple was thinking of serious photographers and wanting to give them the tools to get the best shots possible – rather than simply saying it was at each of its events but not bringing much. really useful tools.
Do I think Apple is actually getting ready to use a shutter button similar to the Sony Xperia 1 IV? No, not in a million years — iPhones were designed with mass appeal, and a side-mounted camera function wouldn’t fit with this. And since they also have a notification slider, the edge of your iPhone would feel super cluttered with a shutter button thrown into the mix too.
But I can dream, can’t I? And maybe here’s a compromise: maybe a MagSafe accessory can provide this functionality for people who want it. I certainly would – every photo I take with the Sony Xperia 1 IV is now taken with the shutter button.
We hear a lot about how the iPhone 14 Pro Max could be a huge upgrade for the iPhone line and it would be great if Apple could add this little camera feature, especially since the phone is for… well, pros. But as I wrote before it’s terrible timing for a major iPhone update… so maybe not.