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

snakyjake

Suspended
Original poster
Jul 1, 2008
2
0
Why didn't Apple implement the virtual home button on the iPad Pro (generation/June 2017)?
 
That's definitely something that Apple would unveil on the iPhone first. If it comes to the iPhone this fall as rumours suggest it may still be 1-2 years before we see it on an iPad.
 
If you are talking about virtual home button like on Android, Assistive Touch is a pretty good workaround.
If you are talking about iPhone 8/X style embedded TouchID home button, it's not gonna appear on iPad first.
 
That's definitely something that Apple would unveil on the iPhone first. If it comes to the iPhone this fall as rumours suggest it may still be 1-2 years before we see it on an iPad.
So now should be the best time to buy the iPad Pro before new tech will be brought over to the iPad in a few years time like removal of physical home button, OLED display etc.
 
So now should be the best time to buy the iPad Pro before new tech will be brought over to the iPad in a few years time like removal of physical home button, OLED display etc.
OLED would be too expensive for iPad sized display.
 
So now should be the best time to buy the iPad Pro before new tech will be brought over to the iPad in a few years time like removal of physical home button, OLED display etc.

Typically, if the iPhone and iPad share similar features, as they have in the past, usually the iPhone will see the latest features first followed by the iPad after. So, if there is an embedded home button in the display for the iPhone this year, the next iteration of the new iPad will likely have the home button embedded into the display.
 
I'm still not convinced getting rid of the bezels and having a virtual home button is a good idea on a tablet. I can see how it would work well on a phone, but the form factor of iPads is different, as well as how people use them, so I've never quite understood the clamour to get rid of bezels. Reduce their size yes, but they seem to have done that to good effect on the new 10.5.
 
It possibly costs more and so maybe that change had to wait to keep the profit per unit at a certain point. I love it on my iPhone 7, but maybe it's less useful on an iPad. If Apple hasn't had to replace iPad buttons nearly as much as iPhone ones, maybe the thought was it wasn't time yet.
 
Integrating all the sensors "into" the screen was apparently one of the most challenging things to do with the new iPhone design so I'm assuming its definitely on the costly side, not to mention the engineering difficulties. But you'd assume if they've cracked it for the new iPhone they know how it could be done for the iPad.
 
Because iPads don't have Taptic Engine and a feature like that for sure would come to iPhone first.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ascender
Why didn't Apple implement the virtual home button on the iPad Pro (generation/June 2017)?

Tech advances in steps. And Apple puts it in when they feel like it.

The virtual home button debuted in the ip7, but it will quite a while before it comes to the iPad.

They haven't implemented force-touch on the iPad yet either. At that debuted in 2015.

See what I mean.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.