- Apple iPhone 15 may come with solid-state volume buttons.
- Solid-state buttons are not physical buttons, but give users a similar feel using haptics.
- Apple iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models are the only ones rumoured to come with solid-state buttons.
Next year’s Apple iPhone 15 series is expected to come with many changes over the current iPhone 14 series. Expect a greater specs differentiation between the vanilla iPhone 15 and the Pro models. Now, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the iPhone 15 Pro models will replace the physical clickable volume buttons with solid-state buttons.
Kuo compared the iPhone 15 Pro models to the Apple iPhone 7 where Apple replaced the clickable home button with a solid-state button. Kuo predicts that this change will happen only on the high-end iPhone 15 Pro models, widening the gap between the vanilla and pro models further.
“My latest survey indicates that the volume button and power button of two high-end iPhone 15/2H23 new iPhone models may adopt a solid-state button design (similar to the home button design of iPhone 7/8/SE2 & 3) to replace the physical/mechanical button design,” Kuo said in his tweet.
This could be one of the many changes that have been predicted for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max for next year. This could also be marketed by Apple as an added durability feature for higher-end iPhone 15 models, a 9to5Mac report points out.
The solid-state volume buttons, according to Kuo, will rely on the Taptic Engine vibration motors on the iPhone to simulate the feeling of a click. “Like with the Home button, Apple will rely on the Taptic Engine vibration motors to simulate the feeling of a click,” Kuo said in his tweet. Due to this change, he says, the number of Taptic Engines used in each iPhone will increase to three. Currently, the iPhone only uses one Taptic Engine.
The Apple iPhone 15 series is already rumoured to come with several changes. Apple is finally said to bring a USB type-C port on the iPhone 15 series, in compliance with the new EU law that requires all electronics to have a universal charging port. Earlier this week, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models were reported to come with higher RAM as compared to the iPhone 14 series.
