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

iPhone 7 will not have a home button

I think they'll do this, because the biggest gripe with the iPhone is the huge chassis to the device.

The perfect scenario is the form factor of the 5s with the screen size of the 6, and with smaller bezels and no home button they can definitely pull that off. I really think that this is what they're going to go for with the 7. It has to be a revolutionary design as it's the 10th iteration of the iPhone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: solarmon and Ninerboy81
Touch ID could be moved to the back or side.

But the more I think about it, I think they are 3 years away from making it on-screen.
 
My honest belief is, the staple of the iPhone design, whether you view it as good or bad, has always been the home button. I don't see them getting rid of it, for a long time. Especially with the new generation Touch ID being implemented this year. Other companies have so many thing to move away from buttons, but I don't think Apple buys into that thought.

Apple want their devices to be recognized instantly, and the home button plays a big part in that.
 
OP, I'm thinking the same. With Touch ID moving to the screen and 3DTouch doing so much more, i think they will figure out a way to make the power button to a hard reset without the need for a home button.
 
I was just chatting about this last night to my gf. If they could could pull this off and possible make it so the glass curves around the edge like the S6 Edge that would be one drop dead beautiful phone.
 
Lukkee24 said:
If not embedded in the screen, there's always the possibility of Touch ID moving to the back of the phone too.
Click to expand...

And what about covers? You'd need a cover with a hole in the back, and they exist (usually to let you see the Apple on the back) but are ugly.
The most elegant solution is to embed the sensor into the screen, sooner or later they'll move it there and get rid of the home button
 
recoil80 said:
And what about covers? You'd need a cover with a hole in the back, and they exist (usually to let you see the Apple on the back) but are ugly.
The most elegant solution is to embed the sensor into the screen, sooner or later they'll move it there and get rid of the home button
Click to expand...
I agree, I'm not a fan of the phones I've seen with buttons/sensors on the back! But it remains an option nonetheless.
 
Abazigal said:
I was thinking the same thing myself. We can now activate multitasking by swiping on the display and no longer need to hold down on the home button to trigger Siri. All that's left now is Touch-ID.
Click to expand...

I'm curious if this feature works from inside apps too. I know on Apple's site they say that it can be done from the springboard. I really hope it works from anywhere.
 
Home button isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. It's iconic and does a lot of things. While the integrated touch id would be nice, it's not as secure as the button. Also, anytime you touch the screen, it will wake it or activate it. It will consume battery much more. Home button provides a physical feature for touch id, multi task, screen shots, activating siri and a central - HOME feature. Take that away and the consumer is going to get confused rather quickly. You have to be careful.
 
AbSoluTc said:
Home button isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. It's iconic and does a lot of things. While the integrated touch id would be nice, it's not as secure as the button. Also, anytime you touch the screen, it will wake it or activate it. It will consume battery much more. Home button provides a physical feature for touch id, multi task, screen shots, activating siri and a central - HOME feature. Take that away and the consumer is going to get confused rather quickly. You have to be careful.
Click to expand...

Recall the original ipods, that click wheel was iconic.. everyone predicted the phone would also somehow include the click wheel. You have to move on.. or become irrelevant.
 
bugelrex said:
Recall the original ipods, that click wheel was iconic.. everyone predicted the phone would also somehow include the click wheel. You have to move on.. or become irrelevant.
Click to expand...

They all still retain the center "click" button across all devices.
 
Siri could replace the physical Home button and Touch ID like this, for example:

"Hey Siri, take me back to home screen. No, I said HOME SCREEN. H-O-M-E-S-C-R-E-E-N"

"Hey Siri, scan my finger. No, scan my finger. Scan my finger NOW."
 
With 3D Touch, the physical home button's days are numbered. When it eventually goes away, it will open up the way for radically reducing the footprint of the iPhone without reducing the actual screen size. Wouldn't it be nice one day if you had a 6s Plus screen size but with the footprint of the smaller 6s? Those numbers may not balance out, but you get the idea...
 
Bryan Bowler said:
With 3D Touch, the physical home button's days are numbered. When it eventually goes away, it will open up the way for radically reducing the footprint of the iPhone without reducing the actual screen size. Wouldn't it be nice one day if you had a 6s Plus screen size but with the footprint of the smaller 6s? Those numbers may not balance out, but you get the idea...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm imagining discrete, isolated haptic feedback, so the home "button" could be a screen area that physically conveys the home button, even though it's virtual (like you'd feel the round boundary)

That's my main issue with the loss (and/or some non-Apple soft button implementations), I like the very specific, unique physical feel of the home button. It's easy to find, it gives you an orientation reference, there's no mistaking it (and it's functions) vs, any other button on the device.
 
Hal~9000 said:
By next year? (in regards to the home button being removed)... hell no.

As I've already explained in my later response of the thread, maybe years and years down the line. No chance it gets removed by next year though.
Click to expand...

Well we don't know! The 6s had to keep the same design as the 6. They could've come out with some breakthrough screen Touch ID technology but because of the "s" model they had to keep it the same. They would have had two years (6 and 6s) to develop a new technology
 
My prediction for the iPhone 10:

Futurama-eyePhone-1.jpg

4782567057_e7e6f9d63b_b.jpg


... ok but seriously, lets just enjoy our 6S's for now.
 
vanilla.coffee said:
My prediction for next year.
3D touch will remove the need for a physical home button.
Click to expand...

If it allows Apple to bring back a 4" iPhone, I'm all for it.

As of now, however, if Apple does not offer a smaller phone in the future, I will be jumping off the Apple ecosphere for good.

I do not like the LARGE phones. They suck, size wise.
 
Cool Pup said:
I think they'll do this, because the biggest gripe with the iPhone is the huge chassis to the device.

The perfect scenario is the form factor of the 5s with the screen size of the 6, and with smaller bezels and no home button they can definitely pull that off. I really think that this is what they're going to go for with the 7. It has to be a revolutionary design as it's the 10th iteration of the iPhone.
Click to expand...

I could not agree with you more. I have the iPhone 6, and the case size just doesn't work for me. I have to use two hands, and I frankly HATE that. I've been looking for a 5s 64 GB, but who in their right mind would sell one now?
 
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