Apple should remove the switch and the volume buttons on the future iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. A real upheaval, which could lead to an upheaval for the industry?
As has been the case for more than 16 years, Apple should organize a huge conference this fall to present the iPhones that will succeed the iPhone 14. Rumors and leaks are already numerous, and allow us to have a glimpse of the different iPhones, from their designs to their spec sheets.
If most of the expected novelties are classic, the removal of the mechanical buttons, which would be replaced by false tactile buttons, is perhaps the novelty that intrigues the most. A first 3D visual of the iPhone 15 Pro, unveiled by ShrimpApplePro on March 20, 2023, in any case allows this rumor to be put into image. Here, the two usual volume buttons would be replaced by a single button. At the top, the switch to switch to silent mode would be replaced by a push button.
Haptic feedback rather than clicks?
According to the leaks, this new volume button would have a touch surface, on which you could possibly slide up or down to control the volume. It is likely that Apple prefers false clicks to touch control, with haptic feedback similar to that of the Mac trackpads or the iPhone 7 home button. This track makes the most sense, to see what Apple decides to do. (And Apple wouldn’t be the first, HTC already did it in 2018 with its U12+).
The volume buttons would not be the only ones affected. According to 9to5mac, the switch that allows the iPhone to go into silent mode should also give way to a simple button, which you just have to press to silence the smartphone. A first in 16 years of iPhone, while this switch is one of the differentiating points of the Apple smartphone. Only OnePlus copied it for several years, before also giving it up.
Will these buttons be reprogrammable? With the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple added a user-customizable “Action button.” By the time the iPhone 15s are announced, there should be plenty of rumors about it.
An inevitable change?
If we could think that this transformation would concern all models, it should not be the case. Judging by the images shared by ShrimpApplePro, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus should not benefit from these new keys.
On the contrary, the volume buttons and the classic switch should be kept on these models, which could be among the last Apple smartphones to benefit from this style of buttons, born with the first iPhone in 2007.
It must be said that the innovations of the Pro and Max models often tend to be found on the basic and Plus models of the following years. A trend towards innovation and modernity for Apple? Maybe. But we must not forget that the removal of these buttons also represents an economic advantage for the brand, which reduces by this maneuver the risk of breakdown of iPhones, often sent to after-sales service because of their mechanical buttons.
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