iPhone 15 Pro may feature haptic solid-state power and volume buttons

Next-gen iPhone 15 Pro models can swap out their physical volume and power buttons for solid-state versions that use haptic feedback, analyst Min-Chi Kuo wrote in a spotted tweet by MacRumors. The design would be similar to the non-physical home button on the iPhone 7, which used a Taptic Engine to simulate a button press with vibrations. It could also look like Mac trackpads, which don't move but simulate clicks using similar haptic technology.

For this to work, it would require additional Taptic engines beyond the one already present on current iPhone models. “There will be Taptic Motors located on the left and right inner sides to provide force feedback to make users feel like pressing physical buttons,” Kuo said in a tweet thread. "Due to this design change, the number of Taptic Engines used in each iPhone will increase from one to three."

Apple reportedly planned a similar change to the watch to increase water resistance, according to a 2018 rumor, but it never happened. However, it's unclear how a buttonless design would benefit an iPhone, as it appears two additional Taptic motors would add rather than reduce complexity (much of the Watch Ultra's weight is due to the huge motor Taptic).

Kuo said the buttonless design and the switch to USB-C (which Apple has already confirmed) will be two of the big changes for the next iPhone Pro models. Kuo is often right about this, but the iPhone 15 models are still a year away, so a lot can change in the meantime.

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