Are we moving closer to the first 'seamless' iPhone design?
While the iPhone 14 Pro made quite a splash last month with the introduction of the brand new Dynamic Island, the design of the standard iPhone 14 was met with a collective shrug. It's pretty much exactly the same as the iPhone 13 – both inside and out. And if new rumours are to be believed, next year's most dramatic design change will be exclusive to the Pro models too.
Renowned Apple analyst Ming-chi Kuo has claimed that the two iPhone 15 Pro models will be the first to jettison physical buttons entirely, with the volume and power buttons replaced by haptic touch. (Want the best iPhone experience available now? Check out today's best iPhone 14 deals.)
A fan-made concept for a button-less iPhone (Image credit: ConceptsiPhone)
In a series of tweets, Kuo claims that "the volume button and power button of two high-end iPhone models may adopt a solid-state button design (similar to the home button design of iPhone 7/8/SE2".
The aforementioned home button for the iPhone SE uses Apple's 'taptic' engine (which, yes, is simply Apple's own word for 'haptic') to create the sensation of a button press – but what the user is actually feeling is vibrating feedback.
The iPhone SE features a taptic home button (Image credit: Apple)
This isn't the first time we've heard that Apple is planning to ditch buttons entirely. We've heard tell that Apple is working on implementing a disappearing buttons or sliders, thanks to touch-sensitive surfaces. Much like those rumours of Apple planning a port-less iPhone, it seems the company is hell-bent on achieving a totally seamless design – perhaps finally achieving Steve Jobs' ultimate vision for the iPhone.
Time will tell whether we're indeed in store for a button-less iPhone in 2023. But while we're not expecting the charging port to go the way of the headphone jack next year, it's sounding more and more likely that USB-C is finally on the way.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
