{"id":905866,"date":"2026-09-26T06:10:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T06:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/905866\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T06:10:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T06:10:15","slug":"how-to-customize-pro-controls-layout-on-an-iphone-18-pro-and-18-pro-max","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/905866\/","title":{"rendered":"How to customize Pro Controls layout on an iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past couple of weeks, I\u2019ve been putting all the iPhone 18 Pro<\/a> (and 18 Pro Max) camera upgrades to work. While the variable aperture system<\/a> has drawn plenty of attention \u2014 and rightfully so, given the natural depth of field it delivers \u2014 the bigger upgrade for me has been the introduction of new Pro Controls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t tell you how long I\u2019ve been asking for this. Apple has historically been reluctant to give users full manual control, but over the last few generations, it\u2019s slowly been rolling out incremental features that prove it’s actually listening. Even so, it wasn’t until recently that I stumbled onto something that takes the feature to another level: the ability to fully customize the Pro Controls layout to match your exact shooting style.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Whether you want shutter speed pinned front and center, or the focus slider positioned for precise fine-tuning, customizing this interface completely transforms the experience. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromTom’s Guide<\/p>\n

How to customize Pro Controls layout using the iPhone 18 Pro\/Pro Max
\n1. Open the camera app, access Pro Controls<\/p>\n

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\"iPhone<\/p>\n

Customizing the Pro Controls layout to keep your favorite tools within reach is surprisingly simple. Start by opening the Camera app, then press and hold any of the control icons located on the side opposite the shutter button.<\/p>\n

On a brand-new iPhone 18 Pro or 18 Pro Max, you\u2019ll typically see the default icons for Live Photos and the LED flash \u2014 just long-press either one.<\/p>\n

2. Make your selections<\/p>\n

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\"iPhone<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll now see an Add Photo Controls overlay displaying icons for every available manual setting. You can configure anywhere from two to eight controls at a time. Once you\u2019ve picked what you need, simply drag and drop the icons into whatever order or layout works best for your shooting. Click Done when you’re finished to save the layout.<\/p>\n

\n

\"iPhone\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: John Velasco \/ Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

All of your selections will stay locked in the exact order you arranged them, making Pro Controls vastly more practical since you’re no longer forced to constantly tap the six-dot icon to dig into settings. I love this level of customization because it gives me the flexibility to tweak key parameters on the fly, letting me refocus on framing and shooting instead of fumbling through menus.<\/p>\n

Best of all, this layout customization carries over seamlessly to video recording. While you\u2019ll find familiar core adjustments like aperture, shutter speed, manual focus, and white balance, Apple also adds video-specific tools like Dual Capture, Action mode, and Adaptive \u2014 the latter designed for time-lapse recording to dynamically slow the frame rate when motion is detected.<\/p>\n

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Sign up to the Tom’s iGuide weekly newsletter with coverage on everything from product launches to software updates, this is your go-to source for the latest updates on all the best Apple content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the past couple of weeks, I\u2019ve been putting all the iPhone 18 Pro (and 18 Pro Max)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":905867,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[64,63,203,105],"class_list":["post-905866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}