Apple may merge the iPhone’s Action button into Camera Control, according to Weibo leaker Instant Digital. A single press would open the camera, a long press would run whatever you assigned to the Action button, and the dedicated key would disappear from new iPhones in the second half of 2027.
That matters if the Action button is the one you actually reach for. The iPhone 20 Action button question is really about whether Apple swaps a control you can customize for a cheaper design, and the leak only answers part of it.
TL;DR: Instant Digital says the Action button and Camera Control will become one button on iPhones due in the second half of 2027. You would press to open the camera and long press for the Action button’s job. Camera Control would also lose its capacitive layer to cut cost. The leaker has a decent record, but nothing else backs this claim yet.
What the iPhone 20 Action button leak actually claims
Instant Digital says Apple will fold the Action button into Camera Control on new iPhones from the second half of 2027. That window lines up with the 20th anniversary iPhones expected in fall 2027.
Apple has not said what those phones will be called, so they could land as iPhone 19 Pro, iPhone 20 Pro or something else entirely. Here is the claim broken down.
| Detail | What the leak says |
|---|---|
| Single press | Opens the camera |
| Long press | Runs the function now assigned to the Action button |
| Dedicated Action button | Removed |
| Camera Control | Stays, with the capacitive layer dropped and pressure sensing kept |
| Timing | New iPhones in the second half of 2027 |
The pressure sensing change is framed as a cost cut that keeps the button’s functions, which is a different goal from simplifying the body of the phone.
Why this claim sounds familiar
The pressure sensing idea has been through this once already. In October 2025, Instant Digital said Apple would strip the capacitive layer from Camera Control on the iPhone 18 lineup, and the standard iPhone 18 is not due until spring 2027, so that claim is not fully settled yet.
The same account also claimed that month that the Side, Volume, Action and Camera Control buttons would all become solid state haptic buttons on the 2027 phone. A merged button and four haptic ones are not obviously the same plan, and it is unclear whether the two rumors are connected.
On credibility, AppleInsider has described Instant Digital as having a better track record than most Weibo leakers, and as an early source on Camera Control itself. A good record on one button is not the same as a clean record on what happens two generations out.
What it would change if you use the Action button
Anyone who has pointed the Action button at a shortcut or an app would be moving that job onto a long press of a button that also launches the camera. If you have ever opened the camera by accident, our Camera Control tips cover how it happens, and the merged design would give that button a second job.
The leak does not say how long the long press would be, or how the combined button would behave beyond the single function you assign. A threshold that is too short would launch the camera when you meant to run a shortcut, and one that is too long would feel like a step back from a dedicated key.
Not a dramatic change on paper, but a real one for people who use the Action button every day. It also leaves the iPhone with one fewer opening in the frame, which may be the point.
What to watch before the next iPhones arrive
Apple has confirmed none of this, including the iPhone 20 name, and the current iPhone 18 Pro lineup is only a couple of months old. Until a second source or Apple’s own hardware agrees, this stays one leaker’s claim.
The thing to watch is whether the pressure-sensing-only Camera Control shows up again in supply chain reports. If it does, the Action button merge becomes easier to believe, and if it quietly disappears, treat the rest of the claim with the same caution.
