There are several design elements that have been mostly static on the iPhone for years, even as the phone has grown in size and the display has evolved. One such element is the volume rocker, which still consists of two pill-shaped buttons on the left side of the device. That might change this fall, as recent rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 Pro will feature a single volume button similar to what we saw on the original iPhone (but with some technological upgrades).
Daniel Rotar, who runs the ZONEofTECH channel on YouTube, said in a tweet this week that he’s “almost 100% sure” the iPhone 15 Pro will have one long, unified volume rocker.
He came to this conclusion while putting together an iPhone 15 Pro concept based on the leaked CAD drawings. Apple has always used two pins on each of the volume buttons (so four in all), but the iPhone 15 Pro CAD drawings only show two pins in total.
Meanwhile, the CAD drawings for the base model iPhone 15 feature two slots for volume buttons with four pins in all. If these leaked materials are legitimate, then it seems likely that the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will feature a unified volume rocker, while the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will retain the familiar two-button layout.
Rotar also believes Apple will change the mute switch “to a singular press button, rather than the up and down switch that we have now.” Both of these potential changes do line up with rumors of Apple adopting solid-state buttons on upcoming iPhone models. Rather than physically pressing buttons, you would receive a haptic response from Apple’s Taptic Engines.
We’re still more than six months out from the launch of the iPhone 15 series, but at this rate, the leaks might spoil everything long before Apple’s fall event.
