Rumoured iPhone 15 Pro redesign might push a few buttons

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 iPhone 15 render featuring a touch-screen slider on the side of the device

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."

See more

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.

Read more:

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Daniel Piper
Senior News Editor

Daniel Piper is Creative Bloq’s Senior News Editor. As the brand’s Apple authority, he covers all things Mac, iPhone, iPad and the rest. He also reports on the worlds of design, branding and tech. Daniel joined Future in 2020 (an eventful year, to say the least) after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more. Outside of Future, Daniel is a global poetry slam champion and has performed at festivals including Latitude, Bestival and more. He is the author of Arbitrary and Unnecessary: The Selected Works of Daniel Piper (Selected by Daniel Piper).