Ethan had used an iPhone for years without thinking twice about the two buttons on its side. He pressed them to raise the volume, lower music, or silence an incoming call. That was all they were, or so he believed. One afternoon, while taking pictures at his daughter’s birthday party, he accidentally pressed a volume button and captured a photo without touching the screen. He stared at the picture, surprised. Then he wondered what else those ordinary buttons could actually do.

That night, Ethan started experimenting. He discovered that the volume buttons could work as camera shutters, making photographs easier to capture without touching the screen. He found other shortcuts involving alarms, scanning, calls, and device controls. But one discovery caught his attention more than the rest. He learned that the buttons could be involved in emergency and security features—functions designed for moments when touching the screen might not be possible. Then, just as he was reading about the emergency shortcut, his phone suddenly slipped from his hand.