Apple Supplier Potentially Hints at iPhone 15 Pro With Solid-State Volume and Power Buttons
Apple supplier Cirrus Logic may have vaguely hinted at iPhone 15 Pro models getting haptic buttons next year, according to research firm Barclays.
In a letter to shareholders this month, the Texas-based semiconductor company said it continues to "engage with a strategic customer" and expects to "bring a new HPMS component to market in smartphones next year." HPMS refers to Cirrus Logic's high-performance mixed-signal chips, which includes haptic drivers for the Taptic Engine in iPhones.
On an earnings call with analysts this month, Cirrus Logic CEO John Forsyth narrowed down the timeframe for this new component coming to market to the "back half of next year," which would line up with iPhone 15 Pro models launching next September.
In an investor note last week, Barclays analysts Blayne Curtis and Tom O'Malley said the new component that Cirrus Logic mentioned will most likely be part of additional Taptic Engines for the haptic buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models:
The biggest change to our thinking here is to model $1 of new content in the IP15 Pro models. To be clear, the company hasn't said much here other than that the chip is mixed signal and not in the power domain. When looking at potential use cases, the largest change in new iPhone models next year is the removal of the buttons, which would require additional drivers for the haptics engine, making it the most likely use case for new content.
In October, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said iPhone 15 Pro models will feature solid-state volume and power buttons. Kuo said the devices will be equipped with two additional Taptic Engines that provide haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of pressing the buttons, without them physically moving, similar to the Home button on recent iPhone SE models or the Force Touch trackpad on newer MacBooks.
Haptic buttons on iPhones could allow for even better water resistance and would eliminate moving parts that can wear out or break over time. However, the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are still expected to have mechanical buttons.
Popular Stories
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones.
Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3.
Notification Summary Changes
Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries
Apple Intelligence...
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes.
While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner.
Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri ...
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today.
A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device.
The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes.
The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
The upcoming iPhone 17 models that Apple plans to release this year will not feature a smaller Dynamic Island, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today.
On social media, he said that he is expecting the size of the Dynamic Island to remain "largely unchanged" across the iPhone 17 lineup. His statement is contrary to prior rumors that we've heard about planned changes for the iPhone 17 models.
...
Apple's retail stores will be rolling out "merchandise/floor marketing updates" next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman did not explicitly say if the store updates are related to any upcoming product announcements, but he did mention that next week is around the time that Apple rolls out its annual Black Unity watch band for the Apple Watch.
In each of the past four years, ...
It's also time for Apple's first product announcement of the year.
Last year, Apple said it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and the wireless earbuds are expected to launch very soon.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
In his Power On newsletter last weekend, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the...
