Kuo first reported on this change in October, explaining that the clicky volume and power buttons would be dropped in favor of solid-state buttons. In a new series of tweets on Wednesday, Kuo doubles down on this prediction with more details on the supply chain:
My latest survey indicates that high-end iPhone 15 models will feature solid-state buttons and will equip with additional Taptic Engines to simulate the feel of physical buttons’ force feedback.
Cirrus Logic is the primary winner for canceling physical buttons and the change to adopt solid-state buttons on the 2H23 high-end iPhone 15 models.
As the exclusive supplier of Taptic Engine’s controller IC for solid-state buttons, Cirrus Logic stands to benefit markedly from this new design. If users respond well to this new design, I think it may be adopted in other high-end models of product lines in the future.
With this change, the power button and volume buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models won’t be physical buttons. Instead, they’ll be solid-state surfaces, and when pressed, Apple will use the Taptic Engine to simulate the “clicky” feeling of a real button.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Apple did the same thing with the physical Home button starting with the iPhone 7. That device, and subsequent iPhones with a Home button, used a solid-state design rather than a physical button that actually moved. The company also uses a solid-state design with the trackpad on recent MacBooks.
