Sometimes you need to start recording instantly, whether you’re documenting an incident, catching a fleeting moment, or preserving something before it’s gone. On iPhone 16 and later, Apple built in a shortcut that makes it quick: press the Camera Control once to open the Camera app, then press and hold to start recording immediately. It records as long as you hold it down and stops when you let go.

If you’d rather not hold the button the whole time, switch the Camera app to video mode first. From there, one press of the Camera Control starts recording and another press stops it.

(Images by Adam Engst; heron added by ChatGPT)