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“..would eliminate moving parts that can wear out or break over time.”

Lol, I never had a power or volume button wear out from the very 1st iPhone I had to the 14 Pro I have now.
Same. For the average customer, a battery would probably wear out 10 times before a power button would. So if they truly cared about longevity for the customer, there are probably better things they could do like making battery replacements easier and more accessible. Unless this makes the phone extremely water proof, which would be desirable for many customers, I think it would be safe to assume solid state buttons is not so much a new feature/selling point as it is a cost saving move for Apple.
 
Buttons are great. Leave them alone. Haptics instead of buttons are a solution to a problem that doesn’t need to exist.
Maybe...but what is there besides volume up/down and the "side" button? Yes, I know there is also the "silent" switch, but let's ignore that for now.

Volume up/down is arguably more conveniently implemented with a gesture. This could be done on the side of the body, but the screen also works, especially if it is an always-on screen.

I typically only use the side button to "sleep" the device. But again - if I had an always-on device, I wouldn't even need that.

So I might argue that ANY buttons are nearly vestigial at this point. Would be interesting to see an iPhone with NO buttons.
 
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Isn't that going to use more space internally to have a full haptic engine vs small buttons. I do like the idea of not having them as things somethings get in there and the buttons don't press as well. And I'm guessing better waterproofing comes as a benefit too.
The haptic engine is already there. The new buttons would be routed to the existing (likely revised) one.
 
Not sure if you are being sarcastic, but phones are worse than toilet seats when it comes to hygiene.

Quite likely, but at least you’re only (usually) touching your own Phone and getting your own germs on there. With a toilet seat, everyone’s butts and poopy hands are touching it, so you’re sharing each others germs.
 
The haptic engine is already there. The new buttons would be routed to the existing (likely revised) one.

According to previous rumours about this, additional Taptic devices would be added to support the new buttons.
 
Buttons are great. Leave them alone. Haptics instead of buttons are a solution to a problem that doesn’t need to exist.

If Apple does it right, you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Nobody complained when Apple switched to haptic trackpads, did they?
 
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Will be very interesting to see how this will play out with cases and gloves.

But I warmly welcome this change since this step is needed to make the iPhone fully solid-state. No moving parts, less failures and adjustable click feel.
Yeah they’ll just about solve this about the time they put a big hinge in and make it fold.
 
LOL. And what do you do when iOS screws itself up and you need to force reboot or go to recovery mode? Apple cannot even make a completely stable iOS for existing devices, and now they want to make it harder to troubleshoot. Great move to push people into buying new phones more often, I guess.
 
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Would this work with gloves? What's the advantage besides better water resistance?

Haptic feedback would negatively affect battery life, may not respond correctly with gloves or wet hands and may not feel as natural as actual buttons. Please keep the actual buttons. This feels like downgrade. Like solution to a problem that does not exist - but of course this is manufacturing cost optimisation...
 
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Isn't that going to use more space internally to have a full haptic engine vs small buttons. I do like the idea of not having them as things somethings get in there and the buttons don't press as well. And I'm guessing better waterproofing comes as a benefit too.
You really think buttons being removed is going to save significant amount of space?
Have you disected an iPhone 4/4S and look at how those buttons took up barely any space (buttons back were recessed into the housing btw) compared to iPhone 7 or X or 12? We're talking under 4mm.
 
I know it's supposed to be able to withstand that but I have never risked it. But this is good to know.

How often do you do this? And the purpose is to clean it?
Yes indeedy, to clean it. I’ll maybe do it every two weeks. Maybe every week. But honestly anytime I think of it and it’s been awhile since the last rinse.

I’ll also run it under water if it gets dusty or I’ve touched the screen without having washed my hands in awhile.

(I’m a germaphobe…. So… probably washed a lot, haha)

And pat dry it with soft towel or cotton tshirt right afterwards. Don’t rub it too much in case there’s a tiny bit of sand in the towel.
 
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According to previous rumours about this, additional Taptic devices would be added to support the new buttons.
Maybe one or two to augment, but Apple has been researching “3D haptics” (according to their patent filings that get updated) for over a decade so far. I think we’re going to see a single updated haptic engine that convincingly makes it feel like the effects you would get from multiple differently-oriented haptics.
 
This is so silly. Buttons need to be tactile. The fake haptics from the haptic engine don’t hold a candle to real buttons, as good as they may be.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to see it. Did it happen?
 
I've seen macOS freezes which disable the haptic trackpad on a MBP, so my concern here is that there still needs to be a way to reboot a frozen iPhone without just waiting for the battery to die.

Apple can make reset associated with shaking violently, which can be isolated via hardware.
 
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