iOS 18 PSA: Quick launch camera without a button

iOS 18 offers many more customization tools than ever before, including the ability to replace the flashlight and camera buttons on your lock screen with controls of your choice.

But while this new lock screen freedom may be great, many users may face a dilemma: They want custom controls, but don’t want to sacrifice quick access to the camera app.

Good news, you can still open the camera quickly even after removing the lock screen button. Here are the steps:

Swipe is a new old solution

Even before Apple added a dedicated camera button to the lock screen, Swipe left from the right edge of the screen.

This option has not been discontinued and is still available in iOS 18.

If you’re in the habit of accessing the camera via the lock screen button, you may have forgotten about this swipe gesture, but it still works the same way in iOS 18 as it always has.

Thanks to swipe gestures, you can safely replace the camera button with any other control, and you can quickly take a photo whenever you need to by swiping from the right edge of your iPhone.

Or, for a more expensive option, you could buy the upcoming iPhone 16, which comes with a physical capture button.

Don’t say I didn’t try to save you money.

Are you planning to replace the camera button in iOS 18? What will you put instead? Let us know in the comments.