iPhone 15 Pro May Abandon Solid-state Buttons

On April 12th, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed on social media that due to technical issues that could not be overcome before mass production, the highly anticipated solid-state button design for both models of the high-end iPhone 15 Pro series (Pro & Pro Max) will be cancelled and replaced with the original physical button design.

Ming-Chi Kuo stated that investors expect the new solid-state button design to help suppliers increase revenue and profits, so this change is particularly unfavorable for suppliers Cirrus Logic (exclusive controller IC supplier) and AAC Technologies (Taptic Engine supplier).

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 15 Pro is currently in the Engineering Verification Test (EVT) stage. This means that there is still time for design changes.

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He suggests that removing the solid-state button and replacing it with physical buttons would simplify development and testing processes. It is believed that this change will have limited impact on production time and shipment volume of Pro models.

As early as October last year, Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro model will be equipped with a solid-state button. At that time, he said that two additional Taptic Engines inside the iPhone would provide haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of pressing physical buttons without requiring physical movement of the button.