Technologies

Nintendo Switch Online: Sega Genesis Library Adds 4 Classic Games

Alien Storm, Columns, Golden Axe 2 and Virtua Fighter 2 join the subscription service’s library.

If you pick up the original model Nintendo Switch, the little Switch Lite or the fancy Switch OLED, you’ll have heaps of stellar games to choose from. However, if you want online multiplayer gaming and access to a library of retro Nintendo 64, SNES, NES and Sega Genesis titles, you’ll want to sign up for Nintendo’s Switch Online subscription service and check out its Expansion Pack tier for some nostalgic joy.

The Genesis retro library added Alien Storm, Columns, Golden Axe 2 and Virtua Fighter 2 on Thursday.

The September Nintendo Direct livestream revealed that beloved 1997 shooter GoldenEye 007 will join the N64 lineup «soon,» but it’s unclear when it’ll arrive. Mario Party 3, Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2, 1080 Snowboarding and Excitebike 64 are all coming in 2023.

The higher tier is pricey but also gives you access to Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ paid expansion and the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course tracks at no extra cost, along with the N64 and Genesis libraries.

The SNES and NES libraries also expanded recently, with Fighter’s History, Kirby’s Avalanche and Daiva Story 6: Imperial of Nirsartia joining the list of classics. These are available in a standard membership, so you don’t need the Expansion Pack tier to play them.

The service lets you race against faraway friends in Mario Kart 8, battle distant rivals in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and trade with fellow trainers in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. It also includes support for cloud backup of game data, access to the Nintendo Switch phone app and a few exclusive offers. Let’s take a look at the whole lot.

How much does Nintendo Switch Online cost?

The basic plan will set you back $4 ( 3.49, AU$6) for a month, $8 for three months or $20 for a year. You could also opt for the $35 family plan, which is designed for households with a bunch of people who want their own accounts. It lets up to eight people play online, use cloud saves and access the SNES and NES libraries and other basic features for a year.

See at Nintendo

You also have another option: a Nintendo Switch Online plus Expansion Pack subscription. This gives you access to a larger library of classic games, from the N64 and Genesis, along with the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Happy Home Paradise DLC expansion.

The Expansion Pack is considerably more expensive than a basic subscription. An individual membership costs $50 for a year, while a family plan subscription costs $80. There are no options for paying monthly or for three months, so you have to commit for a year.

Does the Nintendo Switch Online family plan have restrictions?

The family plan lets you create a group of up to eight Nintendo accounts across multiple Switch systems and gives each person unrestricted access to Switch Online’s features. The person who sets up the account pays the subscription fee and is designated as the administrator and parent or guardian, giving them the ability to add or remove people to and from the plan.

The administrator account doesn’t get control over the other people’s accounts and you can leave whenever you want. You’ll just revert to a single-account subscription if it’s still active, or you’ll need to sign up for a new subscription if not.

It’s possible for the administrator to set other accounts in the plan as «supervised,» letting them restrict eShop purchases and viewing, as well as reviewing sign-in history.

The Expansion Pack tier doesn’t add any restrictions for subscribers on family plans, so it’ll work the same way as it does on the basic tier.

Online play

The most basic perk of Nintendo Switch Online is online multiplayer gaming. If you want to visit a friend’s island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons or battle your buddies in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you’ll need a subscription. However, one major multiplayer game will work without a subscription: Fortnite is playable online even if you don’t have an active online subscription.

Classic Nintendo games

Subscribing to Switch’s online service lets you access a library of old N64, SNES, NES and Genesis games, like a Netflix for Nintendo games. These are all found within the system-specific apps, which you can download from the eShop. This service will also be the only way to access digital versions of classic Nintendo games once the Wii U and 3DS eShops close in 2023.

Much like the NES Classic and SNES Classic retro consoles, you can switch between visual filters in the apps’ menus — a 4:3 mode, pixel perfect and a fuzzy scan-line-filled CRT mode for the true retro experience.

Less retro is the cheeky rewind feature. If you want to try something again, you can press and hold ZL and ZR to jump back a few frames, and it’ll be like your mistake never happened. This feature isn’t available on N64 games, but you can create suspend points so you can save your game at any time.

Nintendo has also included online multiplayer in games that were previously local-only. It’s also added online modes into some games that don’t have typical multiplayer options. You can pass the second player controller to a friend over the internet, so you can take turns. You can also try SP versions of some games, which add special features.

You’ll also lose access to your classic game libraries if your console is disconnected from the internet for more than a week. The console needs to check in with the service every seven days to make sure you’re still subscribed.

Which N64 games are available on Nintendo Switch Online?

If you pay for the more expensive Expansion Pack subscription, you’ll be able to play a bunch of N64 classics (and with more on the way):

1080 Snowboarding (coming in 2023).
Banjo-Kazooie.
Dr. Mario 64.
Excitebike 64 (coming in 2023).
F-Zero X.
GoldenEye (coming «soon»).
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
Mario Golf.
Mario Kart 64.
Mario Party.
Mario Party 2.
Mario Party 3 (coming in 2023).
Mario Tennis.
Paper Mario.
Pilotwings 64.
Pokemon Puzzle League.
Pokemon Snap.
Pokemon Stadium (coming in 2023).
Pokemon Stadium 2 (coming in 2023).
Sin and Punishment.
Star Fox 64.
Super Mario 64.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Wave Race 64.
WinBack: Covert Operations.
Yoshi’s Story.

It typically reveals upcoming Switch Online additions in trailers about a week before they’re added to the library. We’ll update this page when the trailers drop.

Which Sega Genesis games are on the service?

Also included in the Expansion Pack will be a selection of games from the Sega Genesis (or the much cooler Mega Drive if you’re outside North America):

Alien Soldier.
Alien Storm.
Altered Beast.
Castlevania: Bloodlines.
Columns.
Comix Zone.
Contra: Hard Corps.
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.
Dynamite Headdy.
Ecco the Dolphin.
Golden Axe.
Golden Axe 2.
Gunstar Heroes.
Light Crusader.
Mega Man: The Wily Wars.
Musha.
Phantasy Star IV.
Ristar.
Shining Force.
Shining Force II.
Shinobi 3.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Sonic The Hedgehog Spinball.
Space Harrier II.
Streets of Rage 2.
Strider.
Super Fantasy Zone.
Sword of Vermillion.
Target Earth.
Thunder Force 2.
ToeJam & Earl.
Virtua Fighter 2.
Zero Wing.

More Genesis games will be added in the future, Nintendo noted, but it hasn’t hinted at what they’ll be.

What about the SNES games?

The SNES library is included in a standard Switch Online membership. You don’t need the Expansion Pack tier to play these:

Bombuzal.
Breath of Fire.
Breath of Fire 2.
Brawl Brothers.
Caveman Ninja (aka Joe & Mac).
Claymates.
Demon’s Crest.
Donkey Kong Country.
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble.
Doomsday Warrior.
EarthBound.
Fighter’s History.
F-Zero.
Jelly Boy.
Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics.
Kirby’s Avalanche.
Kirby’s Dream Course.
Kirby’s Dream Land 3.
Kirby Super Star.
Magical Drop 2.
Mario’s Super Picross.
Natsume Championship Wrestling.
Operation Logic Bomb.
Panel de Pon.
Pilotwings.
Pop’n TwinBee.
Prehistorik Man.
Psycho Dream.
Spanky’s Quest.
Star Fox.
Star Fox 2.
Stunt Race FX.
Super Baseball Simulator 1.000.
Super E.D.F. Earth Defense Force.
Super Ghouls’n Ghosts.
Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario World.
Super Mario Kart.
Super Metroid.
Super Punch-Out.
Super Puyo Puyo 2.
Super Soccer.
Super Tennis.
Super Valis IV.
The Ignition Factor.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
The Peace Keepers.
Tuff E Nuff.
Wild Guns.
Yoshi’s Island.

And the NES games?

Like the SNES games, the NES library is included in the standard subscription. Some have modified SP versions, which let you jump to the last level, start with a bunch of power ups or otherwise tweak the experience:

Adventures of Lolo.
Balloon Fight.
Baseball.
Blaster Master (SP).
City Connection.
Clu Clu Land.
Crystalis.
Daiva Story 6: Imperial of Nirsartia.
Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong 3.
Double Dragon.
Double Dragon 2: The Revenge.
Dr. Mario (SP).
EarthBound Beginnings (aka Mother).
Eliminator Boat Duel.
Excitebike.
Fire ‘n Ice (aka Solomon’s Key 2).
Ghosts’n Goblins (SP).
Gradius (SP).
Ice Climber.
Ice Hockey.
Journey to Silius.
Kid Icarus (SP).
Kirby’s Adventure (SP).
Kung-Fu Heroes.
Mario Bros.
Metroid (SP).
Mighty Bomb Jack (SP).
NES Open Tournament Golf.
Nightshade.
Ninja Gaiden (SP).
Ninja JaJaMaru-kun.
Pro Wrestling.
Punch-Out.
River City Ransom.
Rygar.
S.C.A.T: Special Cybernetic Attack Team.
Shadow of the Ninja.
Soccer.
Solomon’s Key.
Star Soldier (SP).
StarTropics.
Super Dodge Ball.
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2.
Super Mario Bros. 3 (SP).
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
The Immortal.
The Legend of Zelda (SP).
Tecmo Bowl.
Tennis.
TwinBee (SP).
Vice: Project Doom.
Volleyball.
Vs. Excitebike.
Wario’s Woods.
Wrecking Crew.
Yoshi.
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (SP).

What other classic games are coming?

A possible April 18 leak suggests that Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games are hitting Nintendo Switch Online soon. The list of games tested for the service includes The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, Metroid Fusion and many others. Take this with a grain of salt for now though.

Can I play the Japanese versions?

You can access more classic games via the Japanese eShop, at no extra cost. Here are the steps for this:

1. Create a second Nintendo Account and set Japan as the region. You’ll have to use a different email address than the one linked to your regular account.

2. Create a new profile on your Switch and link it to your Japanese account.

3. Download «Family Computer — Nintendo Switch Online» and «Super Famicom — Nintendo Switch Online» apps from the Japanese store. Don’t worry about the language barrier; you’ll spot the English «Nintendo Switch Online» option.

These apps are similar to the NES and SNES ones, in Japanese. They also contain that country’s versions of games and a few that aren’t available in the West.

Japanese SNES (Super Famicom) exclusives

Dead Dance (Tuff E Nuff).
Doomsday Warrior.
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem.
Kirby’s Super Star Stacker.
Shin Megami Tensei.
Shin Megami Tensei 2.
Shin Megami Tensei If…
Sugoi Hebereke.

Japanese NES (Famicom) exclusives

Adventures of Lolo 2.
Atlantis no Nazo.
Clu Clu Land: Welcome to New Cluclu Land.
Downtown Nekketsu Kōshinkyoku: Soreyuke Daiundōkai.
Famicom Wars.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (SP).
Joy Mech Fight.
Route 16 Turbo.
Smash Ping Pong.
Tsuppari Oozumou.
Yie Ar Kung-Fu.

There are also some SP versions that are exclusive to Japan and some regional differences in games, beyond the language.

Your main Nintendo Account’s subscription will give you access to the apps from the Japanese store, so you won’t need to pay for a separate subscription. If you can overcome the language barrier — all the text will be in Japanese — it’s worth giving these games a try.

How does cloud save data work on Nintendo Switch Online?

For subscribers, game data will automatically be backed up to Nintendo servers if you have an internet connection. If you sign in to your account on a new console, you’ll be able to download that data and pick up right where you left off. It’s an easy, simple way to protect the time you’ve invested in Nintendo Switch games.

Certain titles aren’t compatible with this feature, to prevent cheating. On the surface, that seems to make sense — players can’t hack their Pokemon Sword and Shield data to get all the starters — but it means that competitive multiplayer games with a single-player component aren’t protected. If you lose your Switch and want to pick up where you left off in Splatoon 2’s single-player campaign, you’ll be out of luck.

If you cancel, you have six months to resubscribe before your cloud data is potentially deleted, Nintendo told IGN. That’s the same amount of time Sony gives PlayStation Plus users.

How do I get the retro N64, Genesis, SNES and NES controllers for Switch?

For those who want to feel legit old-school when playing the console’s retro library, you need the controller to match. Subscribers can preorder wireless, Switch-compatible Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis controllers from Nintendo for $50 apiece. These expensive controllers are currently sold out, and restocks have been few and far between.

The N64 controller has built-in rumble, so you won’t need an unwieldy Rumble Pak add-on like gamers in the ’90s did.

For the other retro games, SNES and NES controllers are available for subscribers as well. It’s $30 for a single SNES pad or $60 for a pair of NES pads.

Does Nintendo Switch Online include any other perks?

Subscribers will get access to free content, discounts, in-game items or the ability to play a Switch game for free during a set period. The current trial game is Pokemon fighter Pokken Tournament DX, which you can download and play at no extra charge until Aug. 24.

During its Feb. 9 Nintendo Direct livestream, the company revealed Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Pass. It’ll add remastered versions of tracks from older games in the series in six separate waves through the end of 2023, meaning the racer will get 48 extra tracks. You can purchase the pass for $25, or it’ll be included if you subscribe to the Expansion Pack tier. However, you’ll lose access if you unsubscribe.

Similarly, Expansion Pack tier subscribers can access the paid Animal Crossing: New Horizons downloadable expansion Happy Home Paradise and Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion at no additional cost. When you want to download the expansions, you can find them on the Switch’s eShop or through the Switch Online tab on the console’s home screen.

It’s also offered free original games, like Tetris 99, which came out in February 2019. A physical version has since become available for $30, in a bundle with a 12-month Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

There’s also the Nintendo Switch Game Vouchers promotion, which lets you download two qualifying Switch games for a set price of $100, instead of paying $120 to buy them separately.

If you subscribe for a year, you’ll get in-game items for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Kirby Clash.

Voice chat and the Nintendo Switch app

Online multiplayer is great, but without the ability to talk to other players, it’s a weirdly solitary social experience. That’s why voice chat is so important. Unfortunately, Nintendo’s solution to voice chat is a little strange.

Most game consoles allow you to plug a headset into the console’s USB port or audio input jack and talk to players directly through the game. But most Nintendo Switch games that support voice chat require the user to piggyback off a phone, using the free Nintendo Switch Online app, available on Android and iOS.

To chat with other players in Splatoon 2, you’ll need to download the app on your phone, invite your friends to a Skype-like VoIP chat in the game, then fire up the app and, finally, connect to your match. You’ll be talking with your team on your phone while playing the game on your console.

An update made it a little better, in certain games. If you start a multiplayer session in the Switch’s NES library, the phone app will automatically detect your play session and connect you to your friend. Some games will even let you chat with other players who aren’t on your friends list: Mario Kart 8 will tell you that other users are in voice chat, prompting you to open the app.

If you want to have a traditional console experience, you’ll need to buy a complicated audio splitter to literally tether your Switch to your phone. It isn’t a user-friendly experience, which is why some games sidestepped it. You can chat in Fortnite by plugging a headset into the console and playing.

The app also lets you access special features in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Splatoon 2.

How popular is Nintendo Switch Online?

The service had 32 million subscribers (PDF) as of September last year, Nintendo said in a management briefing at the time. That was a jump of around 6 million from the number at the same time the previous year (PDF).

Can I try out Nintendo Switch Online for free?

If you want to sample the goods before shelling out any money, Nintendo is offering a one-week free trial. The seven-day trial offers almost all the benefits of the core service, but it won’t let you access special offers, like those retro NES and SNES controllers.

If you don’t like the service, however, you’ll have to manually disable auto-renewal to avoid being charged a $4 monthly fee at the end of your trial.

You need a Nintendo account to sign up

If you’ve been playing Nintendo Switch for a while, you probably already have this sorted. Just in case, let’s break it down. Your Switch has individual profiles for each user. The company also has a Nintendo account to manage your profile and purchase-history on its website, console devices and phone apps. To use Nintendo Switch Online, you’ll need both and they’ll have to be linked.

Just make sure you link your profile to the right account. Any Switch profile linked to a Nintendo account will be permanently locked in.

How do I sign up?

Prepaid subscription cards are available at select retailers, but the easiest way to buy the service is simply to try to play a multiplayer game on your Switch. It’ll take you directly to the eShop to complete the sign-up process.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Oct. 22

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 22.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s one of those with absolutely no empty spaces, just a grid of letters, which means if you correctly answer all the Across answers, you’ve solved the Down answers, too. Need help? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Roomful of students
Answer: CLASS

6A clue: Something to bring in a brown paper bag
Answer: LUNCH

7A clue: __ Harbor, sightseeing area of Baltimore
Answer: INNER

8A clue: Where many Stephen King novels are set
Answer: MAINE

9A clue: Beagle or bulldog
Answer: BREED

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Go bouldering, e.g.
Answer: CLIMB

2D clue: ___ New Year
Answer: LUNAR

3D clue: Redhead of musical/movie fame
Answer: ANNIE

4D clue: Something an actor might steal
Answer: SCENE

5D clue: Tear to pieces
Answer: SHRED

Technologies

These Small Tweaks Can Give Your Old Android a Big Speed Boost

Instead of buying a new phone, try clearing some space, updating your software and changing a few battery settings.

If your Android is a few years old and starting to feel sluggish, it doesn’t mean you have to rush out and buy the newest flagship model. Thanks to longer software support from brands like Google and Samsung, older models can still run smoothly, as long as you give them a little attention.

Before you start shopping for a replacement, try a few simple adjustments. You might be surprised by how much faster your phone feels once you clear out unused apps, optimize battery use and turn off background drains.

Whether you use a Samsung Galaxy, Motorola or OnePlus phone, chances are you can still improve battery life and overall speed without buying something new. Just remember that Android settings vary slightly from brand to brand, so the menus may look a little different depending on your phone.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Settings to improve your battery life

Living with a phone that has poor battery life can be infuriating, but there are some steps you can take to maximize each charge right from the very beginning:

1. Turn off auto screen brightness or adaptive brightness and set the brightness level slider to under 50%

The brighter your screen, the more battery power it uses.

To get to the setting, pull down the shortcut menu from the top of the screen and adjust the slider, if it’s there. Some phones may have a toggle for auto brightness in the shortcut panel; otherwise, you need to open the settings app and search for «brightness» to find the setting and turn it off.

2. Use Adaptive Battery and Battery Optimization

These features focus on learning how you use your phone, including which apps you use and when, and then optimizing the apps and the amount of battery they use.

Some Android phones have a dedicated Battery section in the Settings app, while other phones (looking at you, Samsung) bury these settings. It’s a little different for each phone. I recommend opening your settings and searching for «battery» to find the right screen. Your phone may also have an adaptive charging setting that can monitor how quickly your phone battery charges overnight to preserve its health.

Why you should use dark mode more often

Another way to improve battery life while also helping save your eyes is to use Android’s dedicated dark mode. Any Android phone running Android 10 or newer will have a dedicated dark mode option.

According to Google, dark mode not only reduces the strain that smartphone displays cause on our eyes but also improves battery life because it takes less power to display dark backgrounds on OLED displays (used in most flagship phones) than a white background.

Depending on which version of Android your phone is running, and what company made your phone, you may have to dig around the settings app to find a dark mode. If your phone runs Android 10 or newer, you’ll be able to turn on system-wide dark mode. If it runs Android 9, don’t despair. Plenty of apps have their own dark mode option in the settings that you can use, whether or not you have Android 10.

To turn it on dark mode, open the Settings app and search for Dark Mode, Dark Theme or even Night Mode (as Samsung likes to call it). I suggest using dark mode all the time, but if you’re not sure, you can always set dark mode to automatically turn on based on a schedule, say from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, or allow it to automatically switch based on your location at sunset and sunrise.

Keep your home screen free of clutter

Planning to hit up the Google Play Store for a bunch of new Android apps? Be prepared for a lot of icon clutter on your home screen, which is where shortcuts land every time you install something.

If you don’t want that, there’s a simple way out of this: Long-press on an empty area of your home screen and tap Settings. Find the option labeled something along the lines of Add icon to Home Screen or Add new apps to Home Screen and turn it off.

Presto! No more icons on the home screen when you install new apps. You can still add shortcuts by dragging an app’s icon out of the app drawer, but they won’t appear on your home screen unless you want them to.

Read more: Best Android Phones You Can Buy in 2024

Set up Do Not Disturb so that you can better focus

If your phone routinely spends the night on your nightstand, you probably don’t want it beeping or buzzing every time there’s a call, message or Facebook alert — especially when you’re trying to sleep. Android offers a Do Not Disturb mode that will keep the phone more or less silent during designated hours. On some phones, this is referred to as the Downtime setting or even Quiet Time.

Head to Settings > Sounds (or Notifications), then look for Do Not Disturb or a similar name. If you can’t find it, search for it using the built-in search feature in your settings.

Using the feature, you can set up a range of hours when you want to turn off the digital noise. Don’t worry, any notifications you get while Do Not Disturb is turned on will still be waiting for you when you wake up. Also, you can typically make an exception that allows repeat callers and favorite contacts’ calls to go through. Turn that on. If someone is calling you in an emergency, odds are they are going to keep trying.

Always be prepared in case you lose your phone or it’s stolen

Is there anything worse than a lost or stolen phone? Only the knowledge that you could have tracked it down if you had turned on Google’s Find My Device feature.

To prepare for a successful recovery, here’s what you need to do: Open the Settings app and then search for Find My Device. It’s usually in the Security section of the Settings app.

If you have a Samsung device, you can use Samsung’s Find My Mobile service, which is found in Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile.

Once that’s enabled, you can head to android.com/find from any PC or mobile device and sign in to your account. Samsung users can visit findmymobile.samsung.com to find a lost phone.

If you have trouble setting any of this up, be sure to read our complete guide to finding a lost Android phone.

Assuming your phone is on and online, you should be able to see its location on a map. From there, you can make it ring, lock it, set a lock screen note to tell whoever has it how to get it back to you, or, worst-case scenario, remotely wipe the whole thing.

And always keep your phone up to date

As obvious as it may seem, a simple software update could fix bugs and other issues slowing down your Android device.

Before you download and install the latest software update, make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi, or else this won’t work.

Now, open the Settings application and type in Update. You’ll then either see Software update or System update — choose either one. Then just download the software, wait for a few minutes and install it when it’s ready. Your Android device will reboot and install the latest software update available.

There’s a lot more to learn about a new phone. Here are the best ways to boost your cell signal, and here’s a flagship phone head-to-head comparison. Plus, check out CNET’s list of the best cases for your Samsung phone. More of an Apple fan? We have tips for boosting your iPhone’s performance, too.

Technologies

I’m Finally Using the iPhone 17 Pro’s Camera Control, Thanks to These iOS 26 Settings

In just a month, I’ve already used Camera Control on my iPhone 17 Pro Max more than I did in a whole year with the iPhone 16 Pro.

I was keen on using the Camera Control button when it first debuted on the iPhone 16 Pro. But in over a year of use, it caused more accidental swipes and presses than its intended use cases to take photos and adjust camera settings. I was frustrated with the experience and hoped that Apple would remove it from the iPhone 17 lineup. Instead, the Cupertino, California-based company made its touch-sensitive capacitive control surface more customizable with iOS 26. And I’m happy to report that it helped!

I’ve been using the iPhone 17 Pro since launch and spent 5 to 10 minutes customizing the Camera Control to my liking. The result? Minimized accidental swipes and more conscious usability.

I transformed my Camera Control experience by changing a few iOS 26 settings

When setting up a new iOS 26-supported iPhone, Apple includes a toggle (now turned off by default) called Light press to adjust Zoom, Exposure and more. This is what used to cause a lot of fake input earlier. I’m glad it is turned off by default.

Apple now also lets you customize the Camera Control further from the Settings menu. I tweaked settings there to personalize my shortcuts, functionalities and more.

For example, I’ve set the Camera Control to launch a Code Scanner on Double Click without requiring the screen to be on. This allows me to scan and pay at payment kiosks (my most frequently used mode of payment) without needing to open the payment app and then tap on a menu to scan a code. If I enter the Code Scanner without Face ID, it requires authentication before making the payment, so it is still as secure as ever.

Earlier, I had set an Action Button shortcut to open Google Pay, but I realized I still need a one-press solution to turn the phone to silent mode. Adding a Code Scanner shortcut to Camera Control frees the Action Button to be my Silent Switch again. Moreover, Code Scanner lets you select from multiple apps to pay a vendor, which could be useful for people who use multiple payment apps.

Secondly, I have turned off the Swipe gesture and selected only three controls that I use most often. Now, when I open the Camera app, I can lightly press on the Camera Control button and then swipe between my selected controls. It doesn’t register swipes from the get-go. This has reduced fake touches and my frustrating experience with the swipe gesture.

To further streamline my controls, I chose Exposure, Styles and Tone, and left out Depth, Zoom and Cameras. This way, I have access to hidden viewfinder settings with a single press-and-swipe gesture at my fingertips.

I also turned off the Clean Preview toggle, so I can still switch between cameras with a single tap, and switched on the Lock Focus and Exposure toggle for a light press-and-hold gesture.

Customizing these settings helped me personalize Camera Control and use it more often. Now, it appeals to me with the settings I need and the way I need them, instead of being an overcrowded mess. And you can personalize your Camera Control, too. Here’s how:

Change Camera Control launch functionality

You can use Camera Control as another Action Button to launch an app of your choice. The only requirement is that the app should have access to the camera.

Go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control.
Under Launch Camera, select the app you need.
Go back and select Single Click or Double Click to open the said app.

I rely on Double Click so I don’t accidentally trigger an app when taking out the iPhone from my pocket. In my opinion, it is the safer and more convenient choice.

Under the same Launch Camera menu, you can also choose if you want the screen to be on or off when opening the app. I have turned it off to save the extra step of scanning my face to access the said app.

Choose the Controls that you want to appear on Camera Control

Apple allows you to choose from six controls, namely, Exposure, Depth, Zoom, Cameras, Styles and Tone. I have chosen three because the other three are available as on-screen toggles in the viewfinder.

Go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control.
Under Controls, make sure Camera Adjustments is turned on.
Tap on Customize.
Under Gesture, turn on Light Press and toggle off Swipe.
Under Controls, choose the functionalities you need.
Now, turn off the Clean Preview toggle if you require the viewfinder toggles to remain accessible.

You can further adjust the Camera Control pressure by going into Settings> Camera > Camera Control > Accessibility.

Turn on Lock Exposure and Focus with Camera Control

This setting will help you lock the exposure and focus without needing to press and hold on the viewfinder. It can be beneficial when you need consistent settings, especially when moving the camera from one subject to another.

Go to Settings > Camera > Camera Control.
Swipe down to Lock Exposure and Focus.
Tap on the toggle to turn it on.

For me, Camera Control was a hot mess when it debuted last year because I was either using on-screen controls or the new button. That’s why room for more personalization and customizability has been a game-changer. I realized I could access on-screen toggles while adding hidden settings to one-tap access. On my iPhone 17 Pro, I now use the Camera Control to open my payments app, adjust Exposure and Styles as well as trigger Visual Intelligence when needed.