For the last few generations of iPhones, we’ve been hearing that Apple is looking to ditch the physical buttons. Instead, use capacitive buttons for the power and volume rocker. Recently, a new supply chain report detailed that Apple has placed an order for a new capacitive button system that would likely replace the physical buttons on the iPhone 16.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this. Apple was widely rumored to be using capacitive buttons on the iPhone 15 last year, but those plans were scrapped about halfway through the cycle due to manufacturing challenges.
This new capacitive button system would include two additional Taptic Engine components
According to the Economic Daily News, Apple has placed an order with Advanced Semiconductor Engineering. This order includes a system-in-a-package module to replace the physical buttons on both sides of the iPhone 16 with capacitive buttons instead of physical buttons.
This change would include adding two additional Taptic Engine components to either side of the iPhone 16 “to allow users to have vibration feedback” when pressing these buttons.
We have seen capacitive buttons before on smartphones. HTC did it a few years ago. In 2018, HTC announced the U12+, which had a power button/fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone and a capacitive volume rocker on the left side. Many reviewers and buyers of the U12+ voiced complaints about the capacitive buttons misbehaving. This makes it pretty clear why Apple has taken their time with capacitive buttons and ultimately ditched them for the iPhone 15 last year.
It’s a bit unclear why Apple might want to go with capacitive over physical. On the one hand, it sounds like it could free up space inside the phone; however, if we are getting two more Taptic Engine components on either side of the phone, that doesn’t sound like less space. The other reason could be fewer moving parts and areas for water or dust to seep in.
We are still a solid four months away from the iPhone 16 being announced. So things might change. Apple might also be ordering parts for the iPhone 17 because work on the iPhone 17 is underway. Companies like Apple do come up with multiple prototypes before deciding on a final one and starting manufacturing. This could also be part of the Research and Development phase of either the iPhone 16 or iPhone 17.
2024-04-22 15:04:37