Gurman confirmed that solid-state buttons will be used in the iPhone 16 Pros in 2024 rather than the models from this year, correlating analyst reports.
- According to Mark Gurman, chief correspondent for Bloomberg, Apple could release the iPhone 16 Pros next year with haptic touch buttons.
- Recent contradictory rumors have made it unclear whether or not the iPhone 15 Pros this year will have solid-state buttons.
- Gurman claims that Apple is hesitant about touch buttons since they appear to be expensive and difficult to produce. There is no time left for Apple to reverse its mind, even if it wanted to, as the next iPhone is expected to go into mass production in July.
Haptic feedback buttons could be added to the iPhone 16 Pro.
Gurman was questioned about the most recent haptic buttons that the rumor mill anticipates for the iPhone 15 Pro in the most recent issue of his Power On newsletter.
Gurman retorted that Apple had developed internal iPhone 15 Pro prototypes without movable buttons and haptic feedback in place of the traditional mechanical buttons. To put it another way, the rumor that the iPhone 15 Pros will have solid-state buttons was accurate at the time. But, Apple has since changed its mind.
Gurman claims that because of the expense and complexity, the corporation has been “waffling” on solid-state buttons for months. Keep in mind that reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was the one who initially asserted that Apple delayed the use of solid-state buttons until the iPhone 16 Pros because to “unresolved technical concerns before mass production.”
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My latest survey indicates that the volume button and power button of two high-end iPhone 15/2H23 new iPhone models may adopt a solid-state button design (similar to the home button design of iPhone 7/8/SE2 & 3) to replace the physical/mechanical button design.
According to Gurman, Apple is “expected” to include non-moving buttons with the iPhone 16 Pros next year, confirming suspicions that they were abandoned.
Both Gurman and Kuo seem to concur that the new buttons will only Apple available on Pro-branded iPhones; the standard iPhone 16 models should continue to include the silent switch and mechanical volume and power buttons.
We can pretty well assume that touch-sensitive buttons won’t be available this year.
Apple’s Taptic Engine supplier, Cirrus Logic, informed shareholders that it will not be receiving any additional haptics module orders for this year’s iPhones. Moreover, mechanical buttons on the iPhone 15 Pros are plainly visible in leaked CAD blueprints.