Halide 2.13 Adds In-App Action Button Triggers on iPhone 15 Pro

Popular and award-winning pro-level iPhone camera app Halide on Wednesday received an update that brings a set of new in-app triggers that work with the new Action button on the new iPhone 15 Pro models.

With the version 2.13 update, Halide now allows users of an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max to open the app and then use the Action button while in the app to toggle manual or auto focus, cycle through their lenses, switch between auto and manual exposure modes, switch between 12MP and 48MP capture modes, and toggle RAW capture. The developer says the Action button can also be used to take a photo, although there is a delay so they suggest using the standard volume buttons instead.

The developers, Lux Optics, pulled this off by building a custom Shortcut that, when selected in the iOS Settings app and tapping the Action Button menu option, automatically triggers a pre-set option in the app’s dedicated new Action button menu when the app is active.

We also offer a quick setup and help with configuring the Action button to just open Halide with no triggers, or a custom Halide Shortcut that opens a menu with various options like Silent mode, Flashlight, Rotation Lock, Camera Video, Camera Photo and Halide.

The recently released iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max both boast a new Action Button in place of the traditional ring/silent switch. The new button allows users to mute the phone, turn on the flashlight, run Shortcuts, and open apps when pressed. While there is no official API to allow third-party developers access to the Action Button to create their own in-app interactions, Halide’s devs have figured out their own creative way to control the app using the Action Button.

Unfortunately, the only way to use the in-app actions is to have the Action button set to open Halide, meaning there is no way to take advantage of the new Action button feature without affecting how the Action Button works outside of the Halide app.

The update also brings new optimizations for capturing photos with the new 5x telephoto lens on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The update takes advantage of zero shutter lag on the iPhone 15 Pro and also offers additional enhancements. When users tap capture, it will immediately capture what was in the viewfinder. However, this doesn’t work in the following modes:

• Flash Photos
• Manual-Exposure
• Dual-Camera Depth Photos (i.e. “Constituent Photo Delivery”)
• Bracket captures (e.g. SmartRAW)

Halide earned an Apple Design Award and was created by the team responsible for Spectre, Apple’s App of the Year of 2019.

The Halide 2.13 release is a free update for existing users. New users can take advantage of a free one-week trial of the app. Users who opt to continue to use the app can pay an annual $11.99 subscription or make a $59.99 one-time purchase.

For more information, visit the Halide website, where developers have shared their annual deep dive into the new iPhone 15 Pro Max’s camera enhancements.