Apple’s iPhone 11/Pro Smart Battery cases offer dedicated camera button

Apple’s own Smart Battery cases for the iPhone 11 family have a dedicated camera button, but, how? There’s no camera button on the iPhone itself.

Kevin Purdy for iFixIt:

There are no buttons on the iPhone 11 that match up with the camera on the case. Our first guess was some kind of wireless transmission to the phone, but then we saw our patient’s X-rays. It turns out there’s a little circuit board inside the case, which has a thin, flexible circuit running out to connect to the photo button. That circuit board connects the camera button to the phone through the Lightning port “chin” at the bottom of the case. Not totally unexpected, but interesting to see how much hardware design goes into adding just one thing to a battery case.

We last tore down a Smart Battery Case in 2015, and it’s interesting to see how the new technology (wireless charging and a camera button) have made it necessary for even more circuits inside what is ostensibly just a big phone-shaped battery.

MacDailyNews Note: Smart Battery Cases for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max each features a dedicated camera button that launches the Camera app whether the iPhone is locked or unlocked. A quick press of the button takes a photo and a longer press captures QuickTake video. It works for selfies, too.

https://twitter.com/thenickguy/status/1197976418761789441

3 Comments

  1. Yea, until the last OS update the first gen battery case was great. Now it constantly requires reseating the phone. Wish Apple would fix that. That is the last time I buy one of these.

  2. Passing the FAA Private Pilot exam is the first step in completing a journey of lifelong learning that is exciting and never ending. Getting your private pilots license is an accomplishment that less than 2% of the population obtains. You are in an elite group after earning your private pilot wings.IBM C1000-016 Exam Questions

Reader Feedback

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.