Apple’s iPhone 15 range is tipped to make big changes externally and internally, but now a truly eye-opening design change has leaked.
According to respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will replace the physical volume and power buttons on premium iPhone 15 models with solid-state (immovable) buttons that provide feedback via haptic motors. And we already know its codename.
Last month, anonymous leaker ShrimpApplePro tweeted that Apple is working on an ‘iPhone with no physical button. Project codename ‘Bongo’.” The lack of context around the timeframe meant it was widely overlooked, written off by many as being years away. But Kuo changed all that.
“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,” explains Kuo.
Kuo says that Apple will fit Taptic Engines (the company’s branding for haptic motors) on the new iPhones’ internal left and right sides, which provide force feedback “to make users feel like they are pressing physical buttons.” Interestingly, Kuo states that he also expects premium Android smartphones to adopt this design quickly.
10/31 Update: writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has thrown his weight behind USB-C coming to the iPhone 15 range, and described how Apple will present the switch to customers.
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