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| Unofficial render of iPhone Ultra/Fold. |
For years, Apple watchers have speculated about when the company would finally enter the foldable smartphone arena. That wait, according to the latest supply chain whispers, is nearly over. This year, Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPhone Ultra – a book-style foldable device that promises to be unlike any iPhone before it.
But in a move that has surprised many, a key feature from the current iPhone 16 and 17 series is reportedly surviving the transition to the new, space-constrained form factor. And it’s one that a significant portion of iPhone owners have publicly called “useless.”
The Challenge of the ‘Ultra’ Form Factor
According to leaker Instant Digital (also translated as Momentary Digital) on Weibo, the upcoming foldable iPhone Ultra will retain the Camera Control button. The feature, a physical side button with a force-sensing capacitive surface, was first introduced on the iPhone 16 lineup and carried over to the iPhone 17 series. It is also expected to be present on the upcoming iPhone 18 models.
Integrating this button into the Ultra’s design was reportedly no small feat. The device is said to be even slimmer than the rumored iPhone Air when unfolded, leaving precious little internal real estate for the complex haptics and sensors required for the Camera Control.
Read the original leak from Instant Digital on Weibo here.
So why go through the engineering headache? The leaker claims Apple’s motivation is purely functional: one-handed operation. With most foldable phones, users typically need two hands to adjust zoom or capture a photo—one to hold the device, the other to tap the screen. Apple’s goal with the Camera Control is to let you zoom, tweak settings, and snap pictures using just one hand while holding the phone.
The Reddit Reality Check: Is It Actually Useful?
In theory, one-handed photography on a foldable sounds like a dream. But here on planet Earth, where actual iPhone 16 and 17 owners have been living with the Camera Control for months, the reality is far more mixed.
A quick browse through user feedback reveals a deeply divided audience. For every person who loves the button as a fast shortcut, there’s another who finds it finicky, inaccurate, or just plain unnecessary.
“What was Apple thinking?” one Redditor asked in a thread dedicated to the button. Others have echoed the sentiment, calling it a solution in search of a problem.
See what users are saying on Reddit:
10 years later, Apple adds a camera button
‘What was Apple thinking?’ – Initial reactions
2 months later… ‘It is still useless’
Will the Ultra Change the Equation? Or Repeat the Same Mistakes?
Now, imagine that same potentially finicky button on a larger, wider, book-style foldable. Even with one-handed use as the goal, the ergonomics seem challenging. Holding a wider foldable in your right hand and trying to precisely use the Camera Control with your thumb or index finger on the same hand doesn’t intuitively sound like an improvement.
You would likely still need your other hand to stabilize the device. And if that’s the case, the Camera Control hasn’t really solved the problem Apple intended – it’s just moved the controls to a different spot.
The Bottom Line: A Feature That Needs to Earn Its Keep
Apple is clearly betting that the Camera Control can evolve from a divisive curiosity into a signature feature of the iPhone Ultra. However, with user feedback ranging from “love it” to “why does this exist?”, the pressure is on.
For the iPhone Ultra’s camera button to be truly “worth it,” Apple may need to deliver significant software enhancements – improving precision, adding customizability, and offering features that genuinely leverage the foldable’s unique screen aspect ratios. Without those improvements, Apple risks carrying over not just a button, but also a wave of user frustration into its bold, expensive new product category.
Source(s): Instant Digital on Weibo, Reddit (1,2,3)