Why iPhone 15 Pro Models Might Ditch Mechanical Volume and Power Buttons

The next iPhone may have no physical buttons at all, with volume and power controlled by virtual tactile switches.

You might think Apple’s Buttons battle is over after Joni Ive’s split, but it still seems hesitant. According to well-sourced analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 may ditch its remaining physical volume and power switches in favor of touch controls with haptic feedback. This might make the iPhone more durable, but it might also make the iPhone more annoying.

“It’s decision to remove the physical home button with a haptic engine is the right direction, and time has proven. Mechanical home buttons have failed in the past, and haptic buttons solve that,” tech reporter Ahmed N Khan Tell Lifewire via email.

tactile touch

Apple has done this many times before. In fact, the number of virtual buttons will likely rival the number of real mechanical buttons in its lineup (if you don’t count the keyboard). In 2015, Apple replaced the MacBook’s mechanical trackpad buttons with the Force Touch trackpad, which is essentially an iPhone-style silver touchscreen. These trackpads have no moving parts. The click is provided by a small vibration unit that Apple has built into many of its devices, calling it the Taptic Engine.

The haptic feedback provided by the Taptic Engine is convincing enough that it feels like you’ve clicked a regular button. If you still have an iPhone 7 or 8 with a virtual home button, try pressing that button while the phone is off. It’s dead. Nothing happened.

Since then, Apple has put virtual buttons into various devices. The Digital Crown on the Apple Watch, the squeeze button on the AirPods Pro, and more. Taptic Engine also provides vibration alerts and haptic keyboard feedback on the iPhone.

no button is better

The biggest advantage of virtual buttons with Taptic clicks is durability. I had issues with most of my MacBook trackpads over the years until the Force Touch version replaced them. With virtual buttons, there are no moving parts to break. It’s also possible to move the buttons to a more ergonomic place, not because they fit.

Volume control on the new AirPods Pro 2. They detect a brief swipe up or down, and each swipe increases or decreases the volume with a single click. Imagine being able to swipe on either side of your iPhone or even the top and bottom edges while watching a video in landscape orientation. That would be neat.

But there are also downsides. The biggest problem is that the virtual switch has to be loaded with some kind of software to recognize your button presses. Physical buttons can be hard-wired to hardware functions, such as holding down the MacBook’s power/TouchID button at startup to enter a special settings menu.

When Apple introduced the solid-state virtual home button in the iPhone 7, it had to retune its emergency controls. To force restart your device when it’s locked, you used to be able to hold down the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button for a while to trigger a restart. iPhone 7 replaced that method By holding down the volume and sleep/wake buttons.

On a phone running iOS 16, restarting an iPhone is more like entering a cheat code on an old SEGA or Nintendo console.according to Apple’s support pageyou must press and release the volume up button, then the volume down button, then press and hold the side button, then release the side button when the Apple logo appears.

Imagine dancing if there were no physical buttons to press.

And if Apple does go the route of using swipe controls to change the volume, you’re missing out on valuable spatial cues. The volume buttons are easy to find by sight and touch. You can also use them to locate your iPhone in the dark. This is important for both accessibility and usability.

It will be interesting to see how Apple addresses these issues. Hopefully this will be another amazing solution like the Dynamic Island, not a lame duck like the MacBook’s defunct Touch Bar.