No Real Buttons on iPhone 15 Pro? This Rumor Has Me Worried

Speaker 1: Nothing seems real in tech anymore, so I guess buttons can't be real anymore either. Hey, there's a different look for this week's Apple Show. It's a special recorded from Home Edition brought to you by the weather because there's too much snow outside. I think it's about time we talk about the buzz around the iPhone fifteens new design because one reported change of the side buttons is making me nervous. Yes, we are still a while out from seeing the iPhone 15, assuming it's called [00:00:30] the iPhone 15, but we are getting a better idea of how the design is shaping up because of a mix of trusted analyst reports and news outlets reporting on leaked design files. By now you may have heard of the u s BBC ports coming to the next iPhone. Yeah, we have a whole video on that you could check out. Yeah. Speaker 1: Okay, cool. No big shock and it looks like Dynamic Island will be on the models. No more notch. Okay, sure. Fine. And it's said that Apple is making one iPhone version super high [00:01:00] end, maybe called Ultra something more expensive than what we've seen before. Alright, yeah. Apple likes to lean into luxury. Sometimes we can handle that, but what has me not that okay, is the reports that the volume buttons on the side may not be real buttons anymore on these high end pro models. Instead, it seems that we're getting some solid state interface with haptic feedback. It would feel like a button, but it's not actually a button. Just like what Apple did with the home button. Since the iPhone [00:01:30] seven, apple can reproduce the sensation of motion like a slight tap, much more precise than a general phone vibration. If you want another example, we have seen Apple do this also with MacBook Touch pads. Speaker 1: Your brain thinks you're clicking, but the pad is not moving down. There's also a talk that the mute switch could be changing, maybe even the power button as well. So as we go over the potential button changes how they would look, how they would work. There's one more thing I need to ask. Why? Why does Apple want to [00:02:00] do this? I'm Bridget Carey, and this is one more thing. Right now, what's helping us understand these potential design changes are renderings from the minds of 3D artists like Ian Zebo. He made this rendering of the iPhone 15 Pro for nine to five Mac. It's based on reported leaks of design files. Now if you zoom and enhance and focus in on the side panels, it's clear there is one cutout for volume instead of two separate buttons. Now, sometimes a casemaker can get a design file early [00:02:30] so that the company knows the general shape of the next iPhones. Speaker 1: They can have cases ready in time for the launch of new iPhones. Maybe that's what this information is based off of. This week though, we also saw Japanese website Mac Altara. It shared a video of 3D printed iPhone 15 models. The basic models had two volume buttons and the higher end models had just one cutout section that pairs with what Apple analyst Minchi quo has been saying for months. Now that the volume [00:03:00] and power button may change to solid state design and Apple's putting additional tactic engines to simulate the feel of physical buttons quo has been pretty spot on in his analyst reports. And he also added that if this works out well for the high-end iPhones, he thinks it may be adopted in other product lines in the future. That may mean iPads may no longer have real buttons. Even uh, the Apple Watch, this could change. Speaker 1: So if this is a done deal, what's the upside of Apple moving in this direction? [00:03:30] Well, if you eliminate moving parts, I suppose you make a phone more water and dust resistant, you can also program it to respond to different ways than what you could do for a normal button. But we should always ask, is this change just for the sake of change? Is this a better customer experience or is it gonna be the cause for more fumbling? Okay, picture this, you're in a quiet shared space, suddenly your phone alarm goes off or a TikTok auto plays and it's really annoying. So you just [00:04:00] grab your phone and just mash down that volume button quickly silencing it. But will a new version of these buttons, will it really silence things just as fast as a normal button? And will you need to buy more expensive cases to work with these panels? Speaker 1: Or will it need to be a cutout in your case for these touch sensitive sections with more tech inside to fake the illusion of a button? Are there more opportunities for something to go wrong? If you have a problem with your iPhone, like if the screen goes black or it's not responding, [00:04:30] there is usually a combination of buttons you can press to force a reset. But will that still be a reliable way to reset things if the processor is jammed up? Like many of you, I've been using buttons with haptic feedback for some time. Now. I personally have not had a problem other than that really weird sensation that nothing happens when the device is not powered on because there's nothing really to click. But I hope we see some testing and discussion of how this affects the feel and responsiveness and what it means [00:05:00] when you need to trumble shoot. Speaker 1: So yes, I am nervous about a small thing like a button. Maybe it's not that big of a deal, but I always wonder about what may seem like a small change. What does it mean in the long run? What does it mean to have devices without buttons anymore? There's something satisfying about typing on real keys about snapping in your Nintendo Switch controller, the clickety clack realness of tech. In a world where it's hard to believe what is real with AI image and [00:05:30] conversation generation, can we please still have something physical that moves, that isn't a vibration and sound illusion? So when we lose our buttons, I suppose there was always the option of putting a little pop socket on the back of your case, the last little clicky element of my phone. Let me know in the comments what you think about these potential button changes. I will see you next week, and for now I shall treasure the feel of my little mute switch.