Kuo: iPhone 15 Pro Models Will No Longer Feature Solid-State Buttons

[nottorp]

I agree with this for sure. I didn't like the Touchbar or the butterfly keys, but older Apple would have stuck by them and worked towards making them a better product. Tim just halfheartedly introduced the feature and never really spoke on it again.

There's the small problem that the butterfly keys are defective by design and will fail within 1-2 months if you have the audacity to use the laptop outdoors on a balcony or porch. I have the model where they claimed to add extra insulation under the keys but that didn't help at all. And even with the recall, what could they replace the keyboard with? With another one as deffective by design as the first.

Add to that the loss of physical keys for touch typists.

In hindsight, I probably could have got used to the touch bar IF the keys would have worked, AND IF they had left ESC as a physical button. They did the latter but the idea of the touch bar was already compromised. I simply don't want to risk it if i get a new laptop because i associate it with failing if i work on my balcony.

 

[JippaLippa]

I was very skeptical about it.
This is good news

 

[whitby]

If true, this is very good news. Using touch buttons with haptic feedback on the sides of a phone in a case made little sense to me. Unless of course they made the phone resilient enough not to need a case, which seems highly unlikely even though that must be one of the most desirable features in a phone. I wish they would focus on light, long battery life and phones that could withstand normal use without a case instead of building these fragile glass devices which weigh far too much. The only benefit to using touch buttons seems to be environmental so that dust and water proofing is improved, but without making the phone resistant to destroying itself when dropped I see no point.

 

[unchecked]

The mute switch is almost definitely going away. But you’ll be able to bind the new action button to mute/unmute (with different vibration patterns for each) so you’ll still have the functionality, just a slightly different approach to today.

But do you actually think Apple would let us do it?

Highly doubt so.

 

[canadianspeculator]

There's the small problem that the butterfly keys are defective by design and will fail within 1-2 months if you have the audacity to use the laptop outdoors on a balcony or porch. I have the model where they claimed to add extra insulation under the keys but that didn't help at all. And even with the recall, what could they replace the keyboard with? With another one as deffective by design as the first.

Add to that the loss of physical keys for touch typists.

In hindsight, I probably could have got used to the touch bar IF the keys would have worked, AND IF they had left ESC as a physical button. They did the latter but the idea of the touch bar was already compromised. I simply don't want to risk it if i get a new laptop because i associate it with failing if i work on my balcony.

Agreed, and I hated my time with the butterfly keyboard. But simply introducing a flawed product and refusing to innovate on it until customer demands force you to drop it isn't the Apple we joined MacRumors to discuss. What happened to innovation and refinement?

 

[Hyperchaotic]

The current switch is fairly difficult to accidentally flip,

Certainly is, I had to mute my phone yesterday in a doctors office and there was tiny gravel in the mute switch so it was damn near impossible to operate.

 

[Muzzakus]

Maybe you are overacting a little don't you think? Especially considering that it's just a rumor.

Yes I am, I couldn’t care less

 

[Muzzakus]

I'm still waiting to hear what the arguments for solid state buttons even are 🤷🏼‍♂️

Cost reduction

 

[usagora]

Cost reduction

Is that a guess or do you have data on that? I would think that a more advanced button type would cost more both part-wise and development-wise. And it can't be easy to implement, since it's taken this long and is still supposedly being delayed.

 

[_Spinn_]

Thank goodness. Long live the mute switch!

 

[Shadar]

Way to go Macrumors users! We convinced them to switch back.

You do know that this was just an uncorroborated rumor, and likely part of a longer-range plan, if ever it appears. Apple is always exploring, experimenting. Typical rumor game is to shift it to a later product if it doesn't happen on the next.

Silly to be patting yourself on the back and deciding that you and other commenters are directly influencing the development process at Apple due to your fine commentary.

 

[Muzzakus]

Is that a guess or do you have data on that? I would think that a more advanced button type would cost more both part-wise and development-wise. And it can't be easy to implement, since it's taken this long and is still supposedly being delayed.

Speculation on my part. But capacitive vs bespoke physical should be much less complex and cheaper to produce.

 

[drzen]

Speculation on my part. But capacitive vs bespoke physical should be much less complex and cheaper to produce.

It also requires engineering a custom Taptic Engine under the button.

 

[KingPrawn666]

This is the biggest back-peddle for a feature that no one asked for or wanted.

 

[toy547]

I bet that eventually, we will get solid-state buttons on the 15 Pro/Pro Max. But I don't even care for them tbh because I'm just gonna be upgrading my phone only because of USB-C 😂

 

[StoneJack]

I am fine with any buttons that just work