iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphones on display inside the Apple Inc. Puerta del Sol store on the first day ... [+]
Apple is planning to revamp the Action button for the iPhone 16, according to a new report.
Pre-production information seen by MacRumors shows that Apple is making the customisable Action button capacitive instead of mechanical. It will also be available on all iPhone 16 models, rather than just the Pro and Pro Max units, which is the case with the iPhone 15.
The new button has been codenamed “Atlas” and it will detect pressure and have “tact-switching functionality”, but it’s not clear what that means exactly. MacRumors says that the move is designed to add more functionality to the already versatile input, which replaced the single-use mute button in previous iPhones.
A capacitive touch button could add the ability to register swipe inputs, like you will find on most true wireless earbuds, including the AirPods. If so, those swipes might be customisable too, potentially adding new ways to dismiss notifications or scroll through text.
Making the button pressure sensitive is also interesting. We’ve seen similar tech on other handsets, like HTC’s U12, which replaced all of its mechanical external inputs with touch sensitive buttons. Google’s Pixel 2 (which was manufactured by HTC) had an “active edge” all around the body of the phone that could be squeezed to summon Google Assistant.
The upside to a capacitive button over its mechanical alternative means fewer moving parts that can break. It also means adding several new input methods (press, hard press and swiping) to a single button. What will be interesting to see is how Apple plans to make the button a core part of the iPhone user experience.
Will it be fully customizable, or will the new input (or a separate button) be dedicated to an improved Siri with new generative AI abilities? Samsung used to ship phones with a dedicated Bixby button, later merging its functionality with the power button. I can’t see Apple doing something as brazen, but if the company is pumping serious money into smartening up Siri, then I can imagine it will want to show off its work.
MacRumors appears to be fairly confident that this will be a feature that makes it to next year’s iPhone, pointing out that “the presence of the Action button has remained constant across different development stages and even different hardware configurations.” The new button will also make it to the fourth generation iPhone SE, slated to launch in 2025.
It seems like Apple is betting on beg on this new technology by adding to all of its major handsets. But, of course, nothing is guaranteed until it’s officially announced.
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