The iPhone 16 buttons won’t be mechanical, and will feature a haptic system similar to the iPhone SE’s Touch ID, according to a report. Prior to the announcement of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, there was a lot of speculation about Apple replacing its mechanical buttons with haptic-responsive ones. However, analysts claimed the company wasn’t able to get them to work properly in time. As a result, Apple had to postpone the feature for a year.
Now, a report from Economic Daily claims that Apple has placed a large order for these components with Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE). The publication believes the iPhone 16 will feature these new solid state buttons.
As capacitive buttons don’t move, they don’t suffer wear and tear in the same way as conventional ones. Implementing them in the iPhone 16 would make the phone less prone to failure, and it would improve its reparability. Furthermore, the feature would allow Apple to add better water resistance by not having to leave tolerance margins around the buttons.
We expect the iPhone 16 to feature a new Capture Button to control the camera. It seems that Apple wants to replace all mechanical buttons with solid state ones, according to the report. That being the case, we would be surprised if the new Capture Button doesn’t feature haptic feedback as well.