iPhone 15 Pro To Get Solid-State Volume, Power Buttons with Taptic Engines Replacing Clicky Ones: Ming-Chi Kuo

Apple did a similar thing with the physical Home button on the iPhone 7.

Written by Sucharita Ganguly, Edited by Manas Mitul | Updated: 12 January 2023 12:31 IST

iPhone 15 Pro To Get Solid-State Volume, Power Buttons with Taptic Engines Replacing Clicky Ones: Ming-Chi Kuo

Photo Credit: Apple

iPhone 15 models will succeed the iPhone 14 lineup

Highlights

Solid-state buttons could also arrive on other high-end devices
The volume and power buttons will be replaced by solid-state buttons
Apple will use Taptic Engine to replicate the "clicky" feeling

Apple may be considering replacing the iPhone 15 Pro's clickable volume and power buttons with solid-state buttons. This detail was shared by a technology analyst, who compared it to the time the iPhone 7 changed the clickable Home button with a solid-state Home button. The analyst also said that if iPhone users "respond favourably" to this modification, the technology could most likely extend to other high-end phones in the future. When the solid-state buttons are pressed, Apple will reportedly use Taptic Engine to recreate the "clicky" sensation of a real button.

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had first reported on Apple's plans for solid-state buttons for iPhones in October. He emphasised his prediction in a new series of tweets on Wednesday, providing more details on the supply chain.

“My latest survey indicates that high-end iPhone 15 models will feature solid-state buttons and will equip with additional Taptic Engines to simulate the feel of physical buttons' force feedback,” Kuo wrote, adding, “Cirrus Logic is the primary winner for canceling physical buttons and the change to adopt solid-state buttons on the 2H23 high-end iPhone 15 models.”

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“As the exclusive supplier of Taptic Engine's controller IC for solid-state buttons, Cirrus Logic stands to benefit markedly from this new design. If users respond well to this new design, I think it may be adopted in other high-end models of product lines in the future,” Kuo further explained.

The power and volume buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models will no longer be physical buttons as a result of this change. Instead, they'll be solid-state surfaces, and when pressed, Apple's Taptic Engine will simulate the "clicky" sensation of a real button.

It sounds familiar because, with the iPhone 7, Apple began doing the same thing with the physical Home button. That device, as well as successive iPhones with a Home button, used a solid-state design rather than a physically moving button. On recent MacBooks, the trackpad is also made of solid-state components.

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In addition to the rumoured solid-state buttons, the upcoming iPhone 15 lineup could also borrow Apple's Dynamic Island notch design from iPhone 14 pro models. According to a recent report, the pill-shaped dynamic notch could make its way to all four iPhone 15 models. The iPhone 15 pro models are also tipped to feature a titanium frame instead of a stainless-steel one.

Apple launched the iPad Pro (2022) and the iPad (2022) alongside the new Apple TV this week. We discuss the company's latest products, along with our review of the iPhone 14 Pro on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Apple iPhone 7

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Best-in-class performance
Good battery life
Improved cameras
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

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

Choose a variant

iPhone 14 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Superb display with always-on mode
Excellent overall performance
Good battery life
All cameras take high-quality stills and video
Regular iOS updates for many years

Bad
Extremely expensive
Relatively slow charging and transfer speed
Gets warm under heavy workloads
Limited customisation for Dynamic Island

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 Pro review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A16 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1179x2556 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: iPhone 15 Pro, Apple, iPhone

Sucharita Ganguly

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Sucharita is a writer with Gadgets 360 and is mostly found playing with her cat in her free time. She has previously worked at breaking news desks across organizations. Powered by coffee, The Beatles, Bowie, and her newfound love for BTS, she aims to work towards contributing to a better media environment for women and queer folk. More