Apple’s much-rumored solid-state volume buttons for the iPhone 15 Pro have been the subject of much speculation in recent months. While it was widely believed that the company had abandoned plans for this feature, a shareholder letter released yesterday provided further confirmation.
The news will no doubt come as a disappointment to many Apple fans who were eagerly anticipating the solid-state volume buttons, which were expected to offer a more durable and reliable alternative to traditional physical buttons. However, the shareholder letter suggests that Apple is focusing on other areas of innovation for the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro, which is still highly anticipated by consumers and industry experts alike.
An expected supplier for one of the components needed for this technology has indicated an order from Apple, but later announced the cancellation of the project. Additionally, Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has released a shareholder letter alluding to a setback in a project with an unnamed customer, likely Apple, without being able to disclose confidential information. These developments make it increasingly likely that the solid-state iPhone 15 Pro volume buttons are no longer in the works.
In the letter, Cirrus Logic revealed that a new product, which was previously mentioned in shareholder letters and scheduled for introduction this fall, will not come to market as planned. The company cited limited visibility into their customer’s future plans for this product and has removed the revenue associated with it from their internal model. Though they cannot disclose the customer’s name, it is widely believed to be Apple, and this statement strongly suggests that the solid-state volume buttons for the iPhone 15 Pro have been canceled.
Apple’s long-rumored solid-state buttons for the iPhone 15 Pro won’t be happening, as hinted by supplier Cirrus Logic in a recent shareholder letter. While confidentiality agreements prevent the supplier from revealing that Apple was their customer for this technology, the letter explains that the planned project is no longer expected to come to market as planned, and the associated revenue has been removed from the company’s internal model. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously said that the iPhone 15 Pro would feature two additional Taptic Engines for haptic feedback when the solid-state buttons were pressed, which Cirrus Logic was expected to supply components for. However, the supplier has indicated that they continue to engage with a strategic customer and expect to bring a new HPMS component to the smartphone market next year.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently revealed that the iPhone 15 Pro will not have the previously rumored solid-state buttons due to technical issues, and will instead feature traditional buttons that move when pressed. However, rumors still suggest that the Ring/Silent switch may be replaced with a customizable button similar to the Apple Watch Ultra’s Action button.
According to analyst Jeff Pu, Apple may not have entirely abandoned the idea of solid-state volume buttons. Instead, he believes that Apple may push the introduction of the technology to next year and aim to debut it in the iPhone 16 Pro. While this is purely speculative at this point, it suggests that Apple may still be working on perfecting the technology for use in future iPhone models.
Indeed, Cirrus Logic’s recent shareholder letter did not provide any updates on its future relationship with Apple or the development of solid-state volume buttons for iPhones. It remains unclear whether Apple is still pursuing the technology and, if so, which supplier will be involved in the production of the components needed to make it a reality.
Via