Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone 7 Could Have Touch-Sensitive Home Button as Waterproof and Dustproof Rumors Persist

True wireless charging might be the only thing that can save the iPhone's declining sales. Otherwise I see it starting to fall even faster (don't get me wrong sales are good but falling hard for the first time from lack of innovation).
 
Finally some positive news about the iPhone 7. Definitely like the idea of touch sensitive home button and waterproofing. Now all they need to do is make the screen smudge proof. I must clean my screen at least ten times a day.
 
Shaun said:
Finally some positive news about the iPhone 7. Definitely like the idea of touch sensitive home button and waterproofing. Now all they need to do is make the screen smudge proof. I must clean my screen at least ten times a day.
Click to expand...

This! I suffer from the same OCD problem. This may not be news but it seems to me that the oleophobic coating wears off within 4-6 months or so. The way an iPhone screen feels right out of the box is apples to oranges compared to how it feels 6 months later.
 
stanman64 said:
This! I suffer from the same OCD problem. This may not be news but it seems to me that the oleophobic coating wears off within 4-6 months or so. The way an iPhone screen feels right out of the box is apples to oranges compared to how it feels 6 months later.
Click to expand...
That would actually be absolutely awesome. I am yet to have a smartphone which doesn't constantly trigger my "no fingerprints allowed" obsession. From what my brother tells me Galaxy S7 is the absolute worst he ever had so obviously there's space to "innovate" here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: stanman64
Apple would really have to blow me away in order to get me to change back from the S7 I bought.

Add some water resistance or waterproofing in there, add a technology similar to MST, change the design from the eye-sore it is to something that's aesthetically pleasing, change the screen to AMOLED, and re-design iOS from the ground up, and I might think about switching back.
 
x-evil-x said:
But car analogies don't work with phones. You hold a phone and overall footprint matters. Getting rid of the top and bottom overall wasted space will make a much smaller and compact device. Apple needs to do something to stay up to date and iPhones are starting to look dated. Bezels galore.
Click to expand...
It's not wasted space. The bezels are the same width as the average human thumb. I like to be able to hold a device firmly in landscape without blocking the screen or accidentally touching it. You talk about how important it is that you "hold a phone" Tiny bezels are the kind of thing people do for concepts to hype people up about a futuristic thing that isn't actually better. It's just like looking at 1980s or 1990s concept cars.

Just look at how that kind of iPhone would actually look:
 

Attachments

  • GESTURES006.jpg
    GESTURES006.jpg
    176.8 KB · Views: 142
  • fake_iphone_slim_bezel_mockup.jpg
    fake_iphone_slim_bezel_mockup.jpg
    373.4 KB · Views: 168
pward said:
Apple may well end up dropping prices, but they won't do that until they have to in order to stimulate sales; in the meantime they have rather healthy profit margins to maintain.
Click to expand...

The only issue is that in the last 2 quarters the iphone sales curve is starting to flatten and I don't believe the iphone SE will change the sales curve much. Next thing will be that YoY sales will slowly start to decline and if they react too late (=lowering prices or properly innovate), IT WILL BE TOO LATE...
If I will be in a situation to get an android/ms phone and I end up liking it, I will not move back to apple just because they lowered their prices later on... In this environment where you buy into a platform, a customer loss is much more significant and hard to win back that customer.
So to come back to my situation, if I end up liking the smartphone competition, I will most likely switch everything away from apple (tablets, computers, apple-tv's etc)...

I believe I'm not the only one thinking like this and TBH most apple customers started like that too (buy into the apple platform and when satisfied, switch over completely)
 
Best button design (IMO) - Nexus 6P. Making one act like the touchpad on my rMB would be an improvement.
[doublepost=1461610810][/doublepost]
braintumor said:
The only issue is that in the last 2 quarters the iphone sales curve is starting to flatten and I don't believe the iphone SE will change the sales curve much. Next thing will be that YoY sales will slowly start to decline and if they react too late (=lowering prices or properly innovate), IT WILL BE TOO LATE...
If I will be in a situation to get an android/ms phone and I end up liking it, I will not move back to apple just because they lowered their prices later on... In this environment where you buy into a platform, a customer loss is much more significant and hard to win back that customer.
So to come back to my situation, if I end up liking the smartphone competition, I will most likely switch everything away from apple (tablets, computers, apple-tv's etc)...

I believe I'm not the only one thinking like this and TBH most apple customers started like that too (buy into the apple platform and when satisfied, switch over completely)
Click to expand...

Want to see what net effect the yearly update for hardware has now that Apple and others are allowing a new device every 12 months.
 
kennyab said:
Whatever it takes to make a waterproof phone, I'm there. And since I got the 6s Plus, that's about the only new thing that will make me upgrade this cycle. But to be able to take the phone out on the water and not be paranoid when I pull it out of the dry box, that's a killer feature for me.
Click to expand...
The home button does not need to be gone to make a waterproof phone. Looking at the Sony Xperia Z5, we see that the fingerprint reader is on the power button and the phone is waterproof.
 
  • Like
Reactions: big-ted
navaira said:
That would actually be absolutely awesome. I am yet to have a smartphone which doesn't constantly trigger my "no fingerprints allowed" obsession. From what my brother tells me Galaxy S7 is the absolute worst he ever had so obviously there's space to "innovate" here.
Click to expand...
It is. The S7 and S7 Edge are great phones, but they show fingerprints more than any device I have ever seen.
 
VanillaCracker said:
I can't imagine how many people would break that thing within 2-3 days
Click to expand...
I don't think Apple is going to use the physical aspect of this, instead a force enabled touchID that can sense direction of input. So not actually analog or moving, but same functionality.
 
DoctorKrabs said:
It's not wasted space. The bezels are the same width as the average human thumb. I like to be able to hold a device firmly in landscape without blocking the screen or accidentally touching it. You talk about how important it is that you "hold a phone" Tiny bezels are the kind of thing people do for concepts to hype people up about a futuristic thing that isn't actually better. It's just like looking at 1980s or 1990s concept cars.

Just look at how that kind of iPhone would actually look:
Click to expand...
I would hope that the bezel could be small and the screen size would actually increase
 
TouchMint.com said:
True wireless charging might be the only thing that can save the iPhone's declining sales. Otherwise I see it starting to fall even faster (don't get me wrong sales are good but falling hard for the first time from lack of innovation).
Click to expand...

Innovation is misused on the web far too often. See Nvidia every year and those hyperbolic statements of their mars technology, till the next year when they discover Andromeda tech. The phone thing is just getting saturated and people don't need or want to upgrade as much. I don't think Apple thought it would ever make as much as it did, those were insane numbers year after year. Bound to fall off. That goes for every manufacturer. I saw S7 deals very soon after launch, that whole market is going to drop a bit. Just the way it is.

Also you have phones with flagship specs that are $400 or so now. Nexus 5x I have seen for $280 with a gift card (if I recall) Apple is just going to have settle for a few less billion but they will make enough bank. Just not the insane amounts anymore.

I agree on true wireless charging. That may see a nice year for sales, but that won't be till 2018 if I had to guess.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
B4U said:
The home button does not need to be gone to make a waterproof phone. Looking at the Sony Xperia Z5, we see that the fingerprint reader is on the power button and the phone is waterproof.
Click to expand...

And the Sony still manages to be waterproof with its ancient 3.5mm headphone socket
 
  • Like
Reactions: navaira
American Hero said:
Apple would really have to blow me away in order to get me to change back from the S7 I bought.

Add some water resistance or waterproofing in there, add a technology similar to MST, change the design from the eye-sore it is to something that's aesthetically pleasing, change the screen to AMOLED, and re-design iOS from the ground up, and I might think about switching back.
Click to expand...

Actually I hope that they leave things status quo just so that, next year, you can come back with another list of what it'll take to get you back.
 
igorsky said:
Actually I hope that they leave things status quo just so that, next year, you can come back with another list of what it'll take to get you back.
Click to expand...

Sad part is they probably will leave all of that out, and only change the camera to dual lens, remove the headphone jack, and use everything though the lighting port.
 
uid15 said:
My cat "could have" wings, but she doesn't. The physical, concave home button is a cornerstone of the iPhone design and is easy to locate quickly. That IS NOT going away, Apple are not that stupid (even if YOU are) please stop spreading myths.
Click to expand...

Just like the click wheel was a cornerstone of the iPod design. But Apple got rid of them. Designs evolve.
 
I don't really like touch screen home buttons. I prefer a physical home button. But if it means getting rid of the chunky bezels then I'm all for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: uid15
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back