Launching an app with Camera Control

I've just received my iPhone 16 Pro to develop some of the Camera Control features.

I am trying to set up my app to be launched from a button press, and from my research in the documents this is only possible if I develop a LockedCameraCaptureExtension.

Is this correct? My app is written in React Native, so to build an extension would require me to re-create the entire UI in Swift which just isn't possible with my resources. Ideally I could build a simple extension that requires Authentication to open the app but I'n not sure that will work:

The app extension terminates shortly after launch if it doesn’t have an active camera view that uses AVCaptureEventInteraction to handle events from the hardware buttons, or if access to the camera hasn’t been requested.

This is a bit frustrating for something so simple as to just opening an app.

Thanks, Alex

Hi alexfoxdev,

The Camera Control feature is designed explicitly to launch Locked Capture Extensions. App launching only occurs under certain circumstances (when the extension cannot be launched or the device is unlocked).

However, to incorporate the in-app Camera Control features such as the new UI and shutter button reactions, those can be included with the new API in iOS 18 (and some older API such as AVCaptureEventInteraction): https://developer.apple.com/documentation/welcome/enhancing_your_app_experience_with_the_camera_control

Launching an app with Camera Control
 
 
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