iPhone 15 Pro Series Could Feature Solid-State Buttons, Hints Apple Supplier: Report

Makes use of strategically-placed Taptic engines instead.

Written by Sheldon Pinto, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 25 November 2022 12:45 IST

iPhone 15 Pro Series Could Feature Solid-State Buttons, Hints Apple Supplier: Report

The Apple iPhone 14 Pro models introduced Dynamic Island

Highlights

Apple supplier hinted at new components for its Taptics Engine
An earlier report claimed that Apple would go with three Taptic Engines
The components would be coming to the market by second half of 2023

Recent reports have hinted that the upcoming Apple iPhone 15 Pro may have a frame made of titanium with a rounded back. The material is more expensive than stainless steel that is found on recent and currently available ‘Pro' models from the brand. Another note by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also claimed that Apple would switch to solid-state buttons with the iPhone 15 Pro models and also include three Taptic engines. Turns out that an Apple component supplier may have just vaguely hinted at the same, leading to a higher possibility of solid-state buttons arriving on the next iPhone.

As reported by MacRumours, Apple supplier Cirrus Logic in a letter to shareholders confirmed that it would continue to “engage with a strategic customer” and that it plans to bring “a new HPMS component to market in smartphones next year."

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This component could be the company's “high-performance mixed-signal chips”, which MacRumours claims includes haptic drivers for the Taptic Engine in iPhone models. Another vague hint comes from Cirrus Logic CEO John Forsyth, who on a recent earnings call stated that such a component would be coming to the market in "back half of next year,". Indeed, all of the above news from the Texas-based semiconductor company lines up well with the launch of the next iPhone which, going by tradition, takes place every year in September.

Kuo in his earlier report claimed that Apple would add two of these new Taptic engines on the internal left and right sides of the next-generation iPhone models. These would provide haptic feedback similar to what was earlier available when pressing down on the home button of the Apple iPhone 7, which also featured a button that did not physically move, but gave the user the impression of being pressed using Taptic engine and vibrations. Apple is also expected to make the switch from its proprietary lightning port to the more common Type-C port in the second half of 2023.

While the idea of a button-less iPhone does sound exciting, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo had also explored a similar idea back in 2019 with a concept device called the Vivo Apex. The smartphone featured no buttons or ports and relied on a technology branded as ‘Touch Sense', which was a mix of capacitive touch and pressure sensing to get things done. A year later, Vivo followed up with a 2020 version of the Apex by adding a 3D curved edge display, which literally wrapped around the sides of the device and accompanied it with an invisible selfie camera that sat behind the screen.

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Apple iPhone 7

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
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iOS 10, timely updates

Bad
Low light camera performance not best in class

Read detailed Apple iPhone 7 review

Display 4.70-inch

Processor Apple A10 Fusion

Front Camera 7-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel

RAM 2GB

Storage 32GB

Battery Capacity 1960mAh

OS iOS 10

Resolution 750x1334 pixels

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Choose a variant

Vivo Apex 2019

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Rear Camera Unspecified

RAM 12GB

Storage 256GB

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Vivo Apex 2020

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display 6.45-inch

Front Camera 16-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel

OS Android

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Further reading: Apple, Apple iPhone 15 Pro

Sheldon Pinto

Email Sheldon Pinto

Sheldon Pinto is based in Mumbai, and has several years of experience in reviewing smartphones and gadgets. As a Senior Reviewer at Gadgets 360, you will always find him deeply immersed in his reviews, switching from one phone to another. When the battery dies out, Sheldon is always browsing the web for a good sci-fi movie or reading up on cars and bikes. He also loves creating lists of interesting places to eat and travel. Sheldon is available on Twitter at @shellshocd, and you can mail him at ...More