There has been a lot of talk about the iPhone 15 Pro’s buttons, including the mute switch, lately. After a large wave of reports claimed the Pro models will feature solid-state buttons instead of physical ones, new reports a few days ago said that Apple has decided to postpone the change. The iPhone 15 Pro’s new mute button would get the most exciting upgrade, as Apple will reportedly transform it into an Action button similar to the Apple Watch Ultra.
The leaker who detailed Apple’s work for the iPhone 15 Pro’s capacitive buttons says the new button design is very much in the works, despite recent rumors that pointed to the contrary. Moreover, the mute switch will become an Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro. And the leaker offered a few examples of actions the button can trigger.
An anonymous tipster that goes by the name analyst941 on Twitter provided details last year about the iPhone 14’s Dynamic Island before Apple unveiled it.
A few weeks ago, the same person explained how the capacitive buttons would work. The leaker said a new chip will manage the low-power needs of the iPhone 15 Pro’s capacitive buttons. The buttons would supposedly work even when the battery is low or dies. And they’d work with cases and gloves.
But then two analysts penned separate reports claiming the solid-state buttons are too complex for Apple to implement then this year. This prompted speculation that the iPhone 15 Pro will feature physical volume buttons similar to their predecessors. But people were still puzzled about the mute switch. Will Apple keep the current design in place or transition to an Action button?
The same analyst941 reacted to the recent rumors saying that the iPhone 15 Pro will still feature capacitive touch buttons, despite the recent rumors.
More interestingly, the leaker claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro would feature an Action button like the Apple Watch Pro. In addition to muting the phone, the Action button should be user-configurable like on the wearable. The Action button works with shortcuts and can open certain apps or iOS features. The button can also be configurable on a per-Focus Mode basis.
None of this can be confirmed at this time. It might be a while until we learn what Apple decided to do with the iPhone 15 Pro’s buttons. But having an Action button on iPhone is certainly an exciting prospect.
