Apple iPhone 15 possibly first device without physical buttons
Exciting news, as there are rumors that the iPhone 15 would be the first iPhone without physical buttons! The well-known home button has already largely disappeared, but now the physical lock and volume buttons would also disappear. Read more about these rumors here!
Rumors from well-known Apple insider
The usually knowledgeable Apple insider Ming-Chi Kuo writes that the iPhone maker plans to get rid of physical buttons on the two Pro models by 2023. These would be replaced with some sort of artificial button with "haptic feedback." This is the same as on devices like the iPhone SE, where the round home button is also already "fake" in that regard. The round button is not a real button but actually a pressure sensor with haptic motor. This sensor senses that the user is pressing, then the haptic motor mimics the feeling of a click. Apple has been using this trick for some time, for example also with the mouse trackpads of the MacBooks. The touch surfaces there are also static but give the feeling of a click through the haptic motor.
New buttons likely on iPhone 15 Pro models
According to Kuo, these new haptic buttons will be found on the two most high-end iPhone 15 devices, the Pro models. Nothing else is said about why Apple will make this switch. So Apple will need quite a few more haptic motors to start producing these devices, which they are doing at Chinese companies such as Luxshare ICT and AAC. These companies specialize in these kinds of technical contrivances, Kuo expects Apple orders to grow 80 to 100 percent. By the way, the haptic motors can also be found in the Apple Watch. By the way, nothing is said about the mute switch, which is a signature hardware feature of the iPhone. This one will also probably be harder to mimic with a haptic motor, in any case we are curious to see if it will disappear from the list of iPhone features in the near future as well.
Are you a fan of these new developments or do you still prefer to keep physical buttons? In any case, check out our selection of Apple products here!
