Learn how to adjust the brightness level of your iPhone’s flashlight and provide the perfect lighting for any situation.
Your iPhone’s camera LED doubles as a torch, helping you read or see things in the dark. However, one brightness does not suit all conditions.
For instance, you may want the flashlight to have a lower brightness to maintain your night vision or when you’re reading something up close. Alternatively, when you need to find things around the room, you may want it to illuminate the area in full brightness.
Note that lowering the flashlight brightness uses less battery compared to full brightness.
Also see: How to use your Apple Watch as a flashlight
Adjust flashlight brightness on iPhone with Dynamic Island running iOS 18
iOS 18 has removed the ability to adjust the flashlight brightness in one uninterrupted motion on iPhones with Dynamic Island (i.e., iPhone 14 Pro, 14 Pro Max, and the entire 15 series). However, the process is still easy and intuitive.
- Switch on the flashlight from the iPhone Lock Screen or Control Center.
- A huge flashlight controller appears at the top of the screen. If it’s not visible, tap the Dynamic Island with the flashlight icon. Now, put one finger on the controller and slide down to lower the brightness and slide up to increase it.
You can also adjust the beam area by swiping left or right.
Also see: How to replace or remove the flashlight and camera icons on your iPhone Lock Screen
Change flashlight brightness on all other iPhones and iPads
These steps work for iPhones without Dynamic Island running iOS 18, iPhones on iOS 17 or older, and all iPads running a recent version of iPadOS, including iPadOS 18.
- Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap the flashlight icon to turn on the LED.
- Now, touch and hold the flashlight icon until the slider appears, then move it up or down to increase or decrease the brightness.
Tip: You can also touch and hold the flashlight icon, and it will turn on the LED. Now, without lifting your finger, just drag the slider to adjust the brightness in one continuous motion. I do this all the time and prefer it over the iOS 18 flashlight slider, as the old approach is quicker and happens without me having to lift my finger off the screen.
Note: You cannot touch and hold the flashlight icon on the Lock Screen to reveal the brightness slider on iOS 17 and older. So, even if you turn on the flashlight by tapping its icon on the Lock Screen, you still need to access Control Center to adjust its intensity.
Aside from illuminating low-light scenes captured with your iOS device’s camera and doubling as a flashlight, the LED light located on the rear side of your iOS device can even be configured to blink whenever you receive a new message or incoming call.
Can Siri change the flashlight brightness?
You can ask Siri to turn the flashlight on or off; however, it cannot be used to adjust the flashlight brightness.
On a related note: How to add a huge flashlight button to your iPhone Home Screen