THIS is what Apple may ban from iPhone 15; check astonishing leak

According to leaks, Apple is likely to replace the physical volume and power buttons on the iPhone 15 series with solid-state buttons.

Apple is likely to remove the physical power and volume buttons and replace them with solid-state buttons in iPhone 15, Ming-Chi Kuo claims. (AFP)

Apple has often revolutionized smartphone designs by removing parts that were then considered to be essential for any smartphone. In 2007, Apple was the first to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7 series, a move which was first met with criticism till other major brands adopted it. Even with the latest iPhone 14, Apple went ahead with an unconventional approach of removing the entire SIM tray in US models, replacing them with eSIMs. Now, in 2015, rumors suggest that Apple will now go after the physical volume and power button and replace them with solid-state buttons which will function based on the company's proprietary TapTic engine.

The information was shared by popular Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo who tweeted on October 28 to reveal this shocking design change for iPhone 15. He said, “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”.

iPhone 15 to feature solid-state power and volume buttons

It has been rumored for years that Apple might take this route and remove all physical buttons from its smartphone but so far there has been no reliable information regarding this. Kuo has been one of the most reliable tipsters from the Apple ecosystem in the last few years and this has given more substance to this rumor.

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Describing the entire development in a series of tweets, Kuo said, “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”.

This will also change the hardware system of the iPhone 15. “Due to this design change, the number of Taptic Engines used in each iPhone will increase from the current one to three. As a result, the existing Taptic Engine suppliers, Luxshare ICT (1st supplier) and AAC Technologies (2nd supplier) will be significant beneficiaries”, added Kuo.

Calling it a positive move for the smartphone vibrator industry, Kuo also predicted that this move is likely to be adopted by rival Android brands. Considering that this is exactly what happened with the headphone jack and is already happening with the eSIM concept (Google Pixel 7 shipped with a single SIM card slot with an option for secondary eSIM), this might as well be the case.

Interestingly, Apple will not be the first smartphone maker to add a physical buttonless design to its phone. In 2019, Chinese company Meizu launched a smartphone called Meizu Zero which came without a volume and power button. It also lacked a SIM tray, speaker holes and charging port.