There's no denying that Apple is a brand that both giveth and taketh away. For every Dynamic Island or Always-On Display, there's a feature that Apple chooses to remove from the iPhone, whether it's the power adapter or headphone jack. The removal of the latter was described as "courageous" by Apple in 2016 – but its next rumoured design move might be an even braver design choice.
We've heard rumours for a while that Apple is planning to ditch physical buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro in favour of solid state haptic buttons that respond with vibrations (think the home button on the iPhone SE). And now, a renowned Apple analyst has suggested the move is going ahead. (Don't fancy waiting? Check out the best iPhone 14 deals available now.)
A fan-made concept imagining a button-less iPhone (Image credit: ConceptsiPhone)
Ming-Chi Kuo has taken to Twitter to claim that Apple is working with the supplier of its Taptic Engine controller, Cirrus Logic, on "canceling physical buttons and the change to adopt solid-state buttons on the 2H23 high-end iPhone 15 models."
(1/5)Cirrus Logic is the primary winner for canceling physical buttons and the change to adopt solid-state buttons on the 2H23 high-end iPhone 15 models. https://t.co/CNfZOYwRXnJanuary 11, 2023
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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.
Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
