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The iPhone is already IP68 rated. Considering Apple themselves never cover the slightest water damage from warranty, this is not their goal.
^^^^^ This right there^^^^ it is already IP68 rated. Then Apple doesn't cover water damage.
 
I get the low energy chip but besides power how do you do self recovery if iOS is frozen and unable to process the button functions?
Button presses usually invoke a hardware interrupt in the CPU, regardless of what the OS is doing. Most button presses don't actually do anything unless the OS assigns them to a task, such as changing the volume level, but they can also trigger actions without involving the OS depending on what the interrupt handler is programmed to do. As previously mentioned, that's exactly how button presses are handled with every iPhone to date.
 
All of these new "features" are making me want to stick with the "standard" iPhone releases for the foreseeable future.
 
Looks like many people have the same thought that I did.... "How will this work with cases?"

I can do without a case most days of the week -- I use one on Saturdays when I go grocery shopping so I can stand my iPhone up in the cart to view the shopping list.

But so many people love their cases and are afraid to use an iPhone without it.

I cannot say that capacitive touch buttons were high on my list of desired iPhone features. Maybe Apple will do something cool with it that I will find hard to live without, but mostly it seems like change for change's sake.

Who knows, maybe they will couple this with the return of Touch ID as an option?
 
I strongly dislike these kinds of “analog” touch controls where you never know where exactly you’ll end up. While the current volume buttons aren’t granular enough for my taste (they go in 6% steps), at least you know exactly what one button press will do.
If they do go with the swipe to raise / lower the volume (which sounds great), I would expect that a tap on the top or bottom of the bar would bump the volume up/dn just like the current buttons.
 
this is not necessarily a solution looking for a problem. Doing this may allow them to make the device more waterproof (fewer holes for ingress). It also might be cheaper to make or more reliable.

of course this means when the phone is off it isn't really off. which may already be the case
 
Can’t have software without hardware and they are allegedly still testing hardware aspects. It’s going to be an iPhone 16 feature.

Apple has been known to put deactivated hardware components in devices before. But if this has an additional per-unit-cost, I can't see Tim Cook authorizing it if they can't definitely showcase it at the iPhone event. Far more sensible to hold it back for next years list of reasons to upgrade.
 
This will probably end up being integrated into the SoC a few years down the line, like the motion coprocessor was. The M7 motion coprocessor was introduced with the A7 in the iPhone 5s as a separate chip, and by the A10 it was integrated into the SoC (conveniently freeing up the M for use in Apple's Mac chips).

People who are familiar with the Asahi Linux reverse-engineering efforts will know that many of these coprocessor cores run an RTOS called RTKit. This new chip will probably run a version of RTKit, too.
 
Apple has been known to put deactivated hardware components in devices before. But if this has an additional per-unit-cost, I can't see Tim Cook authorizing it if they can't definitely showcase it at the iPhone event. Far more sensible to hold it back for next years list of reasons to upgrade.
The only caveat I have to that is Apple is clearly planning something long term that takes advantage of things that serve a very small purpose today like the UWB chip.

I’ve been saying since the M1 that there have been hardware choices in the M and A processor lines that will only become apparent down the road.
 


The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums.

iPhone-15-Pro-Buttons-CAD-Leak.jpg

CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models

The source of this rumor is the same forum member that shared accurate details about the Dynamic Island last year before the iPhone 14 Pro was officially launched, so there is good reason to believe that the following information is reliable.

According to the anonymous source, the new microprocessor will replace Apple's current super-low energy mode that allows an iPhone to be located via Find My after it has been powered off or for up to 24 hours if its battery has been depleted, and enables Apple Pay Express Mode to be used for up to five hours after the battery has run out.

The new chip will allegedly take over these existing Bluetooth LE/Ultra Wideband functions in addition to powering the solid-state buttons – including an "action" button that replaces the mute switch – when the phone is on, off, or the battery is depleted. The microprocessor will "immediately sense capacitive button presses, holds, and even detect their own version of 3D Touch with the new volume up/down button, action button, and power button, while the phone is dead or powered down," says the tipster.

The source also claims that the new low-energy capacitive features are currently being tested with and without Taptic Engine feedback while powered off, but not while the battery is dead, however "whether this tidbit makes it to production or not is highly uncertain but IS being tested," they added.

The source claims that their "man inside" Apple has seen two functional versions of the rumored new unified volume button in testing, including one where the volume goes up/down faster depending on the amount of force used when pressed, and another where the volume can be adjusted by swiping up and down on the button with a finger. They do not know which method will be adopted for the final release, but these features are enabled by software, so this functionality may well be user-customizable.

The anonymous tipster claims that their inside source is on the Apple development team, so they do not have additional information about the design of the new models unless the physical features require software development to complement them.

As per previous rumors, solid-state capacitive buttons are expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro models, with the standard iPhone 15 models retaining the same traditional button mechanism as on the iPhone 14 series. The iPhone 15 Pro is also rumored to be gaining a software-customizable button in lieu of the mute switch, with a unified volume button or "rocker" replacing the separate up/down volume buttons. For everything else we know about the new iPhone 15 series, check out our dedicated roundups using the links below.

Article Link: iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery
I’ll withhold judgment until we see the them function in person, but this all has the potential to be REALLY bad. If these new buttons require physical contact with skin it will be a disaster. Won’t work with gloves and won’t work with some types of case designs. The area around the buttons will have to be wide open. And thick cases (which I don’t use, but many do) will be even more difficult to make work properly. Overall seems like a solution to a problem no one asked to be solved.
 
There is one potentially fundamental issue with capacitive buttons, which I suspect Apple is addressing somehow, I’m just curious how…. And that issue is…

Unintentional button presses. I know when I’m holding my phone my fingers may rest on any one of the buttons and it takes a more significant effort to press them. How will they ensure this doesn’t happen with the device?

It will be interesting for sure.
 
You want a button to open the camera app. Got it.

There are other existing ways to solve the problem too.

If I was talking about taking a photo I would have said take a photo button. Thought it was clear I was talking about a shortcut to the camera app

There are other ways yes but this way is far better and is ideal to have on android.l which works very well.
 
Home buttons did fail a lot in earlier iPhones (so people had to use that assistive touch thing because a new home button was pricey). Replacing the physical button with the taptic engine solved that and it also made trackpads on MacBooks infinitely better.

Honestly buttons on iPhones can feel cheap, especially on a $1000+ device. It sucks when they rattle, get a bit stuck from grime or the silent switch not having that satisfying click like on day 1.

The more I read about what they will potentially do with it the more I think it may actually be a good change. I'll miss the mute switch but I keep it on nearly 100% of the time anyway. Might as well toggle that in software and use that space for a useful button.
 
...but this does seem a bit like change for the sake of change and to warrant you buying a new iPhone does it not?
Unsure how many people will consider this a reason to purchase. I suspect you will continue to have your yearly upgraders and then you will have those that upgrade every 2-4+ years. I guess you could say this about many iterative changes. It's entirely possible that this saves money in production and therefore isn't really meant to be a bonus for the consumer, rather to apple.
 
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The render of this phone looks soo good, maybe the best since the iPhone 4. I hope this will be the final design. My iPhone XS Max really needs an upgrade.
I do actually like it. Don't love the camera bump but that seems to be an unavoidable constant at this point. A magsafe case will make it flush, regardless.
 
I will wait to have a real criticism or praise until I actually see this concept in real life. Who knows it might be great, and everyone will be talking about the new buttons kind of like the dynamic island.

However, if recent history with Mac's show is anything no one seemed to like the touchbar on the 13" MBP. I personally thought it was a great idea and very useful but there were some times where a physical button might be more desirable.

I don't have a problem with a new button system but the layout looks just like an Android phone?

Also I would like more battery, more ram, hardened titanium frame, better camera system with high zoom telephoto lens, more stable iOS software, better cell reception, advanced AI features like Pixel phones.

Buttons are low on my list of priorities but that is me?
 
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