We’ve only been with the new iPhone 14 for a month and we’re already starting to know the details of next year’s model, which might come without physical volume and power buttons.
Ming Chi Kuo said so, and it’s not a leak from Apple, but an estimate based on data he gets from various Apple vendors. The iPhone could replace the physical power and volume buttons with “solid” buttons, similar to the home button on the iPhone 7, which felt like a click but wasn’t really a mechanical button. To do this, as in the start button mentioned, two “Taptic Engine” would be placed which would simulate button click to know when to press, one on the side of the home buttons and one on the side of the power button. This would only be included in the Pro models, which would make a difference with the cheaper models.
Perhaps this novelty can come from the hand of new functions for the buttons, because thanks to this technology not only the click can be similar, but also the pressure with which you press and the duration of the pressure can be known, and through software different functions could be established for each type of pulse, similar to what happens with the AirPods Pro. Raise and lower the volume by swiping? Mute by pressing and holding for a few seconds? In this way, the mute switch could even be removed and thus create a phone without any mechanical parts, which is essential to improve its durability as well as other properties such as water resistance.
The problem now remains on the roof of the case manufacturers, who will have to find a way to leave the buttons free, while a design challenge that Apple itself will have to overcome with its official covers. All this as long as Kuo’s estimate ends up being fulfilled, of course.
