According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a recent report, Apple could make the clickable buttons on the iPhone, the volume and power buttons, into solid-state buttons instead. This would be similar with how they, many years ago, replaced the Touch ID home button with a new hard button that has a taptic sound response.
The analyst believes the change will come with iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Max, sometime in 2023. He says “My latest survey indicates that the volume button and power button of two high-end iPhone 15/2H23 new iPhone models may adopt a solid-state button design (similar to the home button design of iPhone 7/8/SE2 & 3) to replace the physical/mechanical button design.”
It sounds like this change would only come to the more expensive Pro and Max models, while the standard iPhone 15 models will retain the current clickable buttons. It’s likely however, that Apple in time will implement these new buttons on more iPhone models though, as it will probably make the models more durable and have the potential to improve waterproofing.
Ming-Chi Kuo notes “Like with the Home button, Apple will rely on Taptic Engine vibration motors to simulate the feeling of a click. Due to this design change, the number of Tactic Engines used in each iPhone will increase from the current one to three (…) as a result, existing taptic suppliers Luxshare ICT (1st supplier) and AAC Technologies (2nd supplier) will be the significant beneficiaries.”
Our take: This is a welcome change and improvement to the iPhone lineup and we hope to see it implemented already in next years models.