How to Change iPhone Action Button Triggers Based on iPhone Orientation

The Action Button on the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 Pro models can only perform one action by default. However, you can assign it to run a custom shortcut that will automatically change what the Action Button does depending on the orientation of your iPhone.

Using the “If” Action in Shortcuts

One of the most useful features of the Action Button is that it can be used to run a shortcut. This means you can make the Action Button do almost anything you want. By creating a shortcut that considers the current orientation of your iPhone, you can make your Action Button do one thing when your iPhone is landscape, and something else when your iPhone is portrait, doubling its usefulness.

For example, you might want your Action Button to toggle the Do Not Disturb Focus when your iPhone is in most orientations but have it play or pause the current media when you’re watching a show on Netflix with your iPhone in landscape orientation.

To do this, you’ll need to use the “If” action in your shortcut. This action causes the shortcut to perform one action if the criteria are met, and a different action if they’re not. For example, your shortcut can check if the iPhone is in landscape mode, and pause your media if it is, or toggle Do Not Disturb if it isn’t.

Once you’ve created your shortcut, you can assign it to the Action Button. Pressing the Action Button will then perform the appropriate action depending on whether your iPhone is in landscape mode or not.

How to Create an “If iPhone Orientation is X” Shortcut

Your shortcut will need to know the current orientation of your iPhone to perform different actions based on how it’s oriented. The “Get Orientation” action returns the current orientation of your iPhone; you can combine this with the “If” action to create an “If iPhone Orientation is X” shortcut for your Action Button.

Open the Shortcuts app (download it from the App Store if you don’t have it) and tap the “+” (plus) icon at the top of the screen. Tap “Search Actions” and type “orientation” then pick “Get Orientation” from the results.

Tap “Search Actions” again, type “If” and select “If” from the results. Tap “Choose” and select “Landscape Right.” This is the landscape orientation with the Action Button at the top of your iPhone.

This is where you add the action you want to happen when your iPhone is in “landscape right” orientation. For example, I want the shortcut to play or pause the current media. For that, search for “Play/Pause” and select the “Play/Pause” action on an orange background. Drag the action until it is just beneath your “If” action.

This is where you add the action you want to happen in all other orientations. For this example, I want the shortcut to toggle Do Not Disturb. For that, search for “Set Focus” and select “Set Focus” from the results. Tap “Turn” and select “Toggle.” Drag the action up until it is beneath the “Otherwise” action.

Tap the name of your shortcut at the top of the screen and select “Rename.” Give the shortcut a name you will recognize and tweak the icon if you want. Tap “Done” to save your shortcut.

The completed shortcut should match the image below. You can tap “Landscape Right” to select a different orientation, and replace the “Play/Pause” and “Toggle Do Not Disturb” actions with whatever you want. The “Get Orientation,” “If” and “Otherwise” actions will need to stay in place, however, or the shortcut may not work.

Now Assign Your Shortcut to the Action Button

Once you’ve put together your shortcut, the last step is to assign it to your Action Button. The shortcut will then run whenever you press your Action Button, and the action it performs will change depending on the orientation of your iPhone.

Go to Settings > Action Button, swipe left through the options to “Shortcut” and tap the dropdown. Under “My Shortcuts,” tap the name of the shortcut you just created. Your Action Button will now perform different actions depending on your iPhone’s orientation.

More Ideas for iPhone Orientation Shortcuts

The shortcut above gives two simple actions that your Action Button can perform based on its orientation, but there are many more actions that you can use instead.

You’re also not limited to just portrait or landscape; the “Get Orientation” action can tell if your iPhone is portrait, portrait upside down, landscape left, landscape right, face up, or face down, so you could create a shortcut that does six different things in each of the six different orientations.

For example, you could create a shortcut that starts a timer when your iPhone is lying flat using the “Start Timer” action, which could be useful when your iPhone is on the counter when you’re cooking. In any other orientation, the Action button might open the Calculator app using the “Open App” action.

You could also create a shortcut to launch the camera app in a specific mode when your iPhone is in “landscape right” orientation, using the “Open Camera” action. You could then turn your iPhone left to use the Camera Control button to quickly take a photo, or turn your iPhone right to use the Action Button to quickly capture a video. Once your Action Button has opened your camera in Video mode, pressing the Volume Up button next to the Action Button will start recording.

If there are many different actions that you’d like the Action Button to perform, you could use your iPhone’s orientation as a way to select them.

For example, you could have your Action Button record a voice memo using the “Create Recording” action when in portrait mode, turn it upside down to use the Action Button to turn the flashlight on or off using the “Set Flashlight” action, turn it landscape left to have the Action Button turn off your lights using the “Control Home” action, turn it landscape right to use the Action Button to toggle the “Set Low Power Mode” action and turn it face down to make the Action Button toggle Wi-Fi on and off using the “Set Wi-Fi” action.

Using the orientation of your iPhone to change what the Action Button does can make it far more useful. With six different orientations to use, you can create a shortcut that performs six different actions depending on how your iPhone is oriented. It turns the Action Button from a one-trick pony into a genuinely useful way to quickly access multiple functions on your iPhone.

You can also perform multiple actions using the Action Button that don’t depend on orientation.