Apple Reportedly Hasn't Given Up on Haptic Buttons for a Future iPhone

[MasterControlProgram]

All the buttons on my first gen iPod Touch and iPhone 3G still work so there would need to be more to this than doing it for the sake of it being cool. I like the idea of differing pressure affecting how the button works, but they already gave us Force Touch and then took it away again because most people didn’t use it. Will it be the same for this (if it ever happens)?

I like that they’re focusing on battery life and screen (and hopefully by screen they mean under-screen Face ID).

 

[iamgalt]

Why would they be unusable? Apple system/design engineers and project managers are not stupid.

Based on the absolutely miserable experience of the haptic home button on the iPhone 7, I’m not sure I can agree with that last part. Yeah, it’s been a while since the iPhone 7, but I still want the physical buttons to remain physical buttons. I had the iPhone 7 and returned it, downgrading back to the 6. Absolute garbage.

Apple, stop trying to make buttons more expensive. They work very well as they are.

 

[Avenged110]

By show of hands, how many here have ever had a mechanical button on an iPhone stop working before we replaced the device?

I've had the home button on my iPhone 4 as well as the lock button on my 5 fail, both while serving as my primary device. I've also seen a friend's volume buttons fail on his 3G, another friend's lock button fail on his iPhone 10, yet another friend's lock button die on his 6S, and my sister's lock button failed on her 4S.

 

[Andy_2341]

I would rather they focus on something more useful. Trying to correct my tying on the iPhone is a nightmare. There are no buttons to scroll back so you have to try and place the cursor with your finger. It’s so frustratingly difficult to place the cursor on the right place. I usually end up having to use the back/delete button and re type everything again.

If you hold down on the space bar it makes it so much easier to place the cursor. You can just slide it to where you need.

 

[goobot]

I don’t see why this is being pursued, a physical button is not something that hinders the phone. I loved how Steve introduced the original iPhone as foolproof: one button, and took you home, with everything else on the screen. Apple should focus its efforts on improving AI, Maps, Email, or even battery life. Imagine if they made an iPhone last an entire week—that would be far more compelling to consumers than these gimmicks.

They would not make a phone that would last a week anytime soon. If they could they would just thin it out and make it lighter instead since most people just charge their phone when going to bed anyway

 

[Andy_2341]

I've had the home button on my iPhone 4 as well as the lock button on my 5 fail, both while serving as my primary device. I've also seen a friend's volume buttons fail on his 3G, another friend's lock button fail on his iPhone 10, yet another friend's lock button die on his 6S, and my sister's lock button failed on her 4S.

Good grief, your friends have some serious lock button issues. None of my family’s iPhones or iPads since 4s and OG Air have ever had any of the buttons fail. The Air was used daily (3 battery replacements too) until about 8 months ago when it was replaced with a base 9 and despite that is still used fairly often for media consumption.

 

[Ted_Appleseed]

iPhone 7 home button vibes.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Easy to detect (resulting in no action).

Please explain!

 

[0049190]

If you hold down on the space bar it makes it so much easier to place the cursor. You can just slide it to where you need.

Thanks. That’s a really useful tip although I think you meant hold down then slide the cursor rather than holding down the space bar on the iPhone.

 

[Avenged110]

Good grief, your friends have some serious lock button issues. None of my family’s iPhones or iPads since 4s and OG Air have ever had any of the buttons fail. The Air was used daily (3 battery replacements too) until about 8 months ago when it was replaced with a base 9 and despite that is still used fairly often for media consumption.

To Apple's credit, and this is obviously purely anecdotal, buttons on newer devices seem to be more resilient. I know iPhone 4-5s tended to have lock buttons that got stuck, seemingly more-so than other generations. Software offloads for button functionality in newer versions of iOS also help.

Thanks. That’s a really useful tip although I think you meant hold down then slide the cursor rather than holding down the space bar on the iPhone.

It's definitely hold on the spacebar. It turns the keyboard into a pseudo-trackpad-like interface for cursor dragging. And it is much easier to place.

 

[Howard2k]

I remember the first time I pressed the Home button on my iPhone while the battery was dead. I had thought it was a mechanical button, but no, the feedback was haptic, not clickable! I thought it was broken until I charged it back up and it worked again!

Ha ha. Me too. It was a real “what the…” moment. I think it was iPhone 7?

 

[svish]

This is something that I think Apple will definitely implement. May not be immediately but it should happen in the next 3 to 4 years at least.