Apple has been a trendsetter in the smartphone industry for nearly two decades for better or for worse. (Looking at you 3.5mm jack.) So it's no surprise that the newly the new camera control button debuting on the iPhone 16 this week is already inspiring a number of copycats.
Three different Chinese Android smartphone manufacturers announced plans or revealed versions of the shutter button that will appear on forthcoming handsets.
The party got started late last week when Ni Fei, the president of Nubia, announced on Weibo that the company's next Z70 Ultra smartphone would feature a "more realistic camera button." In a previous post, replying to the regular leaker Digital Chat Station, Fei confirmed that the phone would also have two-stage shutter function, which allows you to focus with a half-click and then take the photo with a full press.
Before last week's Glowtime event where Apple revealed the iPhone 16 lineup, regular device tipster, Ice Universe posted that Oppo's upcoming Find X8 series would have a camera button as well. Android Authority reported that that Oppo's version would be called "Quick Button."
Apple's Camera Control button stands out by including support for swipe gestures that let you change photo setting menus or zoom in on your subject. We don't know yet if Nubia or Oppo will offer similar features with their dedicated camera buttons. For now, it appears their buttons are mostly shutter controls.
Meanwhile, Realme showed off a video on Weibo this week of a new camera button on an unnamed Realme phone that actually appears to extremely similar to Apple's design. In the video, you can see the Realme employee swiping on the key to zoom in on distant skyscrapers. Later, he taps the button to take a picture. I don't know if their version has the two-stage controls, but I would not be surprised if that feature is forthcoming as well.
To be fair to all three phone makers, a separate shutter button for the camera on a smartphone is not a new idea. Sony's Xperia 1 VI still features separate camera button. Companies like Nokia and HTC have had separate camera controls on various devices for years.
Additionally, Realme has a habit of showing off tech they're working on that doesn't always launch. Recently, the company showed off a 320W charger that can refill a smartphone battery in less than five minutes. It isn't on any phones and so far, and there haven't been announcements of its imminent arrival. Previously, Realme duplicated Apple's MagSafe feature, but hasn't actually released it anywhere.
For U.S. customers, we might not see any of these phones, since they may not appear outside of China. Instead, it's a question of whether bigger rivals like Samsung and Google decide to follow suit with their own take on a camera button. Both are known to crib ideas from the Cupertino-tech giant, so it's not out of the realm of possibility.
