It’s no secret that iPads, or any tablet for that matter, aren’t the greatest when it comes to taking pictures. Even if the camera is good, the reality is that it’s very awkward to hold up a bulky tablet to take pictures, especially when you have a perfectly fine phone sitting there in your pocket. Nevertheless, there’s still something satisfying about using a massive tablet to take a picture.

In the very near future, it sounds like Apple is going to make it a lot easier to take pictures on your iPad. No, it won’t be as easy as using your phone, but it will be copying some features found on the latest iPhones. It’s coming in the form of pressure-sensitive buttons, at least according to recent patents. This isn’t guaranteed, but I would welcome the new buttons on an iPad with open arms. This sounds like it’d be perfect for an iPad Mini.

Brand

Apple

Storage

128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

CPU

M4

Operating System

iPadOS 26

Ports

USB-C

Display type

Liquid retina display

A good upgrade, but ultimately unneeded

I’m not sure this will move the needle

As cool as I think pressure-sensitive buttons would be on an iPad, I’m not sure it’s something that people have been dying to have. It hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire with the iPhones, so moving it to something that’s far clunkier to use doesn’t seem like it’ll become a major selling point. I do like the idea of a button that can be swiped and pressed, provided it’s not too easy to do the action I’m not trying to do. The way this works is that the iPad, if this functionality is coming, will register whether you’re fully pressing down on a button, gently pressing down, or swiping it.

Essentially, this gives the button three different functions, and it looks like it’s the same as the Camera Control button on the current iPhone. Now, how that transfers over to an iPad is another beast entirely. Unlike an iPhone, it’s quite difficult to use an iPad with one hand, and I think that’s the hang-up that I have. It’s tough to solve that problem, and it’s why I’d like to see a button like this come to the iPad Mini more than anything.

Speaking for right now, I don’t know if this patent will end up being a big deal, but I’m all for trying. On the other hand, Apple files a ton of patents each year, and it’s not like everything sees the light of day. It feels like iPads could use a shake up, and if adding a pressure-sensitive camera button to an 11-inch tablet is the way to do that, then who am I to get in the way? I don’t think this button will make any budding photographer pick up an iPad for their next photo shoot, but maybe it’ll stop it from being a complete afterthought.

I don’t know when the right time was to invest in the iPad’s camera, but now feels like a weird time. If the rumors about an OLED iPad Mini launching later this year are accurate, then this would all make a lot more sense. However, I’m not one to buy into the rumor mill anymore, especially not after being dragged along for more than a year with the Apple TV 4K.

Don’t blindly trust the rumors

The rumors aren’t always true

Rumors are a big part of the tech world, and it makes a lot of sense because people are always looking for the next thing to be excited about. Unfortunately, the rising prices of tech have made it harder to get excited. If we use the Apple TV 4K again as an example, this is a device that’s been rumored for a while now, but it’s still not there. When Apple raised the price on its products earlier this year, the Apple TV was hit. As a result, it’s difficult to imagine the 4th-generation Apple TV 4K coming in at an affordable price, so I’m not as excited about it as I used to be.

An iPad Mini, the device I’d be most excited about seeing get this camera button, costs $600 right now. Newer technology doesn’t typically cost less than its predecessor, and that was the case before the cost of everything went up. It’s hard to get excited about a new iPad now, and it’s part of why I’ve been hanging on to my older technology for far longer now. I have a tablet that’s been going strong for seven years now, and I hope it lasts a lot longer because I really don’t feel like replacing it.

If a new iPad launches with this new camera button, it’ll catch my attention, but I don’t know if it’ll be enough for me to go out and buy one. Maybe Apple could find a way to keep the price affordable, but I’m not going to hold my breath for that. Unfortunately, this camera change, if it’s real, came a little bit too late.