iPhone 15 Pro models may shun mechanical volume, power buttons

SAN FRANCISCO: Tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to replace the clickable volume and power buttons with solid-state buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models next year.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared the information on Twitter, saying the buttons could function similarly to the iPhone 7's solid-state home button, which the user can't physically press but vibrates in response to touch.

'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,' he tweeted.

'There will be 'Taptic Engines' located on the internal left and right sides to provide force feedback to make users feel like they are pressing physical buttons,' Kuo added.

Kuo didn't mention the iPhone 15 base model or iPhone 15 Plus in his tweet, so they may have the same clicky power and volume buttons.

Furthermore, he mentioned that high-end Android smartphones may follow Apple's design in order to create new selling points, which will boost the mobile phone vibrator market.

Meanwhile, Apple's upcoming next-generation iPhone 15 series will include four models, with bigger feature differences than the iPhone 14 and all the models will feature USB-C charging port, reveals a report.