iOS 27 could let photographers fully customize the iPhone Camera app

If Apple follows through, photographers could finally put flash, exposure, timer, resolution, photo styles, depth-of-field controls, grid and level right where they want them on the iPhone Camera app’s main screen. That is the real payoff here: less digging, fewer taps, and a camera interface that starts to behave like a configurable capture tool instead of a fixed consumer app.

The change is tied to iOS 27 and a major Camera app redesign that Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported Apple is preparing. The core idea is full customization, with users able to choose which features appear and where they sit. One reported piece of the redesign is an Add Widgets tray that slides up from the bottom of the Camera app and sorts options into basic, manual and settings categories. For photographers who bounce between street shooting, family snapshots and quick manual-control setups, that kind of layout could save real time in the moment.

Apple is also said to be rethinking the way the app’s controls are surfaced. The report says the control button could move closer to the shutter, while a new Siri mode tied to Visual Intelligence could identify plants or translate text straight from the camera view. That makes the camera feel less like a sealed shooting mode and more like a live, flexible utility for making decisions quickly, whether the goal is a clean frame, a fast reference shot or a little behind-the-scenes documentation.

The timing matters because Apple is already nudging the Camera app in this direction. iOS 26 introduced a new design language with Liquid Glass, and Apple Support says camera controls are now grouped together onscreen to make adjustments easier in the moment. Apple also says Camera Control on supported iPhone models can be customized further, including which controls are available and in what order. That button debuted on iPhone 16 devices and was built to open the Camera app quickly and get to common settings without fuss.

Visual Intelligence is already part of the same ecosystem. Apple Support says it can identify places, objects and text around you, and Apple’s software pages show that visual intelligence and live translation are now central to the company’s broader Apple Intelligence push. A camera mode that folds those capabilities into the shooting interface would not be a moonshot so much as a next step.

Apple’s WWDC26 runs June 8 through June 12, 2026, and that is the obvious checkpoint for more detail. Apple has already shown at WWDC 2025 that it is willing to reshape Camera and Photos at the interface level. iOS 27 would take that idea further, and for photographers the difference would be simple: the controls worth using every day could finally live on the first screen, not two menus deep.