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Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Models to Feature Solid-State Buttons and Three Taptic Engines
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You would think. Especially since Apple just added a physical button to the Apple Watch (Ultra) and made it more waterproof than before.
Has anyone pointed out that this would allow them to dynamically re assign the volume up button to feel like a two stage button on a real digital camera? And revert back to single stage for normal volume control. Maybe useful for other things too: light press volume down for regular increments and hard press for mute.
It's only good for people who need a waterproof phone, which is a vast minority. I understand a certain level of water resistance for accidents, rain, etc, but there just aren't that many people who need to swim with their phone (and those that do can just get an appropriate case). This is such a small market segment that everyone else shouldn't be forced into a bad design for little benefit.
I think Kuo is misunderstanding his signals, the same way he got under-screen Touch ID wrong (when FaceID came out). I suspect he's seeing fewer orders for button components, or orders for different taptic engines. Fewer button orders could mean they're just redesigning them into a different shape, or ordering them through a different supplier. Apple is diversifying their supply chain, so they could just be placing orders from somewhere that he doesn't have informants. Two smaller taptic engines could simply point to a redesign where they switch from one big one to two smaller ones.
They’re allowed to make money, but not all designs come down to money, otherwise they would be Google or Samsung. If you don’t understand the design features for the iPhone, and how they relate to actual use, then you don’t understand Apple. They make money because they make things work properly and that doesn’t mean they don’t make mistakes.
By that logic, not all of Google or Samsung’s designs come down to money, either. They both have phones that are much better values than the iPhone SE, for instance, at $429 price range.
Lately, Apple’s design choices have been all about the money. Just look at the recycled iPhone SE design (from the iPhone 8 in 2017), the $449 price tag for an iPad that doesn’t even have a laminated display like the iPad Air 2 from literally 8 years ago did, their decision to make a dongle necessary for the new iPad instead of making it compatible with the Apple Pencil 2, etc, etc. I could go on and on. Tim Cook’s specialty is all about cost savings, for better or worse.
Valuable space for battery and the Taptic Engine themselves also needing battery every time you use them. Should be a good combination! /s
Do you see what you have written?
I do agree about the Pencil and the non laminated display. Luke Miani makes the point that this differentiates it with the iPad Air and the $150 price difference. For most here, that'd be a no brained to upgrade but for students and kids, those things wouldn’t matter. He also makes the point that it’s a choice between Apple Pencil 2 versus landscape camera with Magnet placement etc.
Price difference between iPad/Pencil 1 v iPad Air/Pencil 2 is about 33% ($180). Then include Student discount and with Christmas coming there will be student freebies. So despite the 'greed' that people keep going on about, there will be some fantastic values available. Your first point then relates directly to Apple as well.
You have specifically said that their decision was about not about money, but you’ve tied it directly with money (value) and not about experience, use, design.
All about money? You’ve excluded the M2 upgrade, the inclusion of eSim (and that definitely is not about money but a push to move forward). Having a landscape camera on the new iPad, and even making it suitable for any pencil. If you're going to claim ALL, you need to include all changes, and not cherry-pick the cost savings that they have added. I’ve never said it’s never about money, but don’t claim it’s ALL about money.
I do agree about the Pencil and the non laminated display. Luke Miani makes the point that this differentiates it with the iPad Air and the $150 price difference. For most here, that'd be a no brained to upgrade but for students and kids, those things wouldn’t matter. He also makes the point that it’s a choice between Apple Pencil 2 versus landscape camera with Magnet placement etc.
Price difference between iPad/Pencil 1 v iPad Air/Pencil 2 is about 33% ($180). Then include Student discount and with Christmas coming there will be student freebies. So despite the 'greed' that people keep going on about, there will be some fantastic values available. Your first point then relates directly to Apple as well.
Of all the things I want changed, mechanical buttons on the sides is not one of them.
Look at tear downs and see how much space a Taptic Engine takes, vs the button mechanisms. All things equal, there would be less space available for a battery.
That’s a good explanation but overall, it sounds like they would be less reliable.
And FWIW, I heavily use my volume buttons for video/audio volume and camera shutter and my power button for sleep/wake activities— I suspect I’m not alone in that.
Looking forward to hearing many more rumours about the 15 lineup. Solid state buttons seem very interesting.
I’d love to see a 2 year cadence on iPhone releases. Every phone seems to be more buggy than the last and I’d love to seen them put the time into making them perfect before the next hype cycle. Those who were around at the beginning remember how flawless most products were. now it’s 50/50 on what’s going to work when I go to use it.
People say that every release. And it’s simply not true. Phones do so much more these days and if were to consider how many functions it has and how many do not have bugs, I believe the ratio would be far and away in the positive.
Just asked a friend of mine who runs a phone repair shop and he pretty much laughed at me.
It's almost non-existent and the few cases he has seen are buttons being basically broken out by violent drops / intentional damage.
Three 'engines'? Sounds more like a s_x toy than a phone. And touch plates instead of real buttons? I guess that explains the additional 'engines'? One for each side, and one for the center?
IP ratings are kind of bizarre. People need to see what those number mean, and why some are overblown.
