Back in October, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that this year’s iPhone 15 Pro models would pioneer solid-state buttons for both the volume buttons and the side button. However, he now said that that feature would not come to fruition in the upcoming iPhone lineup.
According to Kuo, the “unresolved technical issues before mass production” caused Apple to scrap plans to bring that feature to the iPhone 15 Pro. That smartphone would incorporate two additional Taptic Engines to simulate the pressing of a solid-state button. This would be similar to how Apple implemented this kind of haptic feedback on both the iPhone SE’s Home Button and the current MacBook’s Force Touch trackpad. Fun fact: Apple introduced the iPod (3rd generation) where all of its buttons were solid-state before it moved to the iconic Click Wheel design starting with the next generation.
Kuo expected both the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to revert to the traditional design. Even though Apple still has time to modify the design during the EVT development stage, the design changes will not greatly affect overall production for the said models. I wouldn’t mind if the next iPhone 15 Pro retains the physical buttons as it’s sometimes good to stick with a tried and true design that works fine for most users.
