do different things depending on iPhone orientation

The iPhone action button is capable of doing more than one thing if you set it up correctly

The Action Button debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro and is also present on all iPhone 16s. It is a button that has replaced the sound switch located above the volume buttons and is completely customizable, being able to do almost anything when we press it. and there is a trick with the Action Button which has left me completely confused.

Normally we can assign a use to the Action Button. Activate silent mode, open the camera, turn on the flashlight, start a voice memo, recognize the song that is playing and many other things. Among them, power run any shortcut that we have created.

And it is thanks to this last function that you can make the Action button has different uses, depending on the orientation of the iPhone. By configuring it well, we can have multiple functions assigned to the Action Button. And I’m going to show you how to do it.

The Action Button is more useful than it seems

How to assign multiple functions to the iPhone action button

As I told you, configuring everything correctly, You can assign different functions to the iPhone Action Button depending on whether you have it in your hand in its normal position, whether you have it in landscape mode, whether you have it face down or whether you have it upside down. You can assign actions depending on how you have the iPhone oriented.

This is achieved thanks to the magic of the Shortcuts appone of Apple’s most underrated apps that allows us to do wonders like this. These are the steps to follow:

1. Enter the app Shortcuts and tap on the “+” to create a new shortcut.
2. In the action search search for “guidance” to add “Identify orientation”.
3. Once added, return to the search engine and type “And” to add that function.
4. Tap Select to define the orientation of the iPhone, for example “Horizontal to the left”.
5. If you tap on the “+” you can add other orientationsuch as “Horizontal to the right”.
6. Now search what action do you want the iPhone to do in that orientation, for example turning off orientation lock to watch a video in landscape.
7. Move this action right above “If not.”
8. Now look for the other action that you want the iPhone to do when it’s not horizontal, for example setting it to silent mode.
9. Move this action just below “If not.”
10. Enter Settings > Action buttonscroll to Shortcut and select the shortcut you created.

Now you have configured the Action Button so that, in this case, it activates or deactivates silent mode when you have the iPhone in a normal position but, when it is in a horizontal position, the orientation lock is deactivated so that the screen rotates. Of course, this is just an example and you can add the functions you need.

Additionally, you can add more options. Yeah you add a second “Yes” function after the previous one and repeat the process With another orientation, you can make Action Button do something else when the iPhone is in another position. There are up to 5 different orientations, so you can create up to 5 different uses of the button.

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