How to use your AirPods as the iPhone camera shutter button
Learn how to use your AirPods to control a compatible camera app so you can take pictures and record videos on your iPhone by pressing the earbud stem.
You can control an iPhone camera via the Apple Watch, Siri, or with Bluetooth buttons. With iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26, you can also control Apple’s built-in Camera app or a compatible third-party camera with your AirPods.
This feature only works on the AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 2 with or without active noise cancellation. To try out AirPods camera control before iOS 26 is publicly released in the fall, install the iOS 26 beta on your iPhone and AirPods beta firmware.
Turn on the camera remote for your AirPods
This setting is turned off by default. To turn it on:
- Wear your earbuds and go to Settings > AirPods > Camera Remote
- Choose Press Once or Press and Hold. For a faster capture, go with the Press Once option.
Take iPhone pictures and record videos using AirPods
With your AirPods in your ears, open the built-in Camera app and swipe to a capture mode like Photo or Video at the bottom and then either press or hold a stem on one of the earbuds, depending on what you selected for the Camera Remote setting.
The device will take a picture after a 3-second timer runs out or start recording a video. To stop video recording, press and hold the AirPods stem. For selfie shots, the AirPods camera control takes a burst of 10 pictures.
AirPods camera remote in other apps
Like with the iPhone 16’s dedicated capture button, which works in compatible third-party apps, AirPods remote shutter is also available in third-party camera apps that have chosen to implement the feature. Just open a compatible camera app or the built-in camera feature in a social app like Instagram or Snapchat, then press or press and hold either AirPod stem to take a photo or start recording a video.
I tried several camera apps, and remote shutter via AirPods works in about half of them. Surprisingly, it doesn’t work in Apple’s own Clips app and the Photo Booth app on the iPad. I didn’t have much luck with third-party camera apps like Retrica, B612, and Timestamp Camera either. And some apps like RetroCam may crash when the AirPods camera remote is used instead of the onscreen shutter button.
AirPods camera remote mimics a touch but cannot simulate a touch-and-hold gesture. That’s why you can only use the feature to take a picture in Snapchat because recording a video requires touching and holding the shutter button.
AirPods controls and Camera Remote
The Camera Remote feature requires that the interface of a camera app be displayed on the screen of your iPhone or iPad, meaning pressing the AirPods stem won’t pause your music like it normally does. Similarly, pressing and holding won’t invoke Siri or activate Noise Control modes. Once you exit the Camera app, you can again use standard AirPods controls for media playback and more.
Also, check out: How to pick up and decline calls on AirPods using head gestures
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/07/03/use-airpods-camera-button/
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