A new iPhone 15 Pro leak suggests the incoming smartphone could jettison a design feature that’s been ever-present on iPhones: the mute switch.
As spotted by Mac Rumors(opens in new tab), the leaker ShrimpApplePro has posted a video that was leaked on China’s equivalent of TikTok, which shows some new CAD (Computer-Aided Design) images of the iPhone 15 Pro series. And this video suggests the ‘Pro’ models in the iPhone 15 series could make some significant button tweaks.
The images support earlier rumors that the next-gen phones will replace the traditional dual volume buttons with one single button. And more controversially, it seems the ‘mute switch’, which has been around since the original iPhone in 2007, will now be turned into a button instead.
While that might not sound like an earth-shattering design change, it would likely divide opinion – particularly among those who are used to the mute switch and volume buttons having a very different feel and action, for ‘no look’ tweaking.
The rumors also suggest that both the volume and mute buttons will use haptic feedback, rather than mechanical movement, to provide the sensation of a button press. That’s something we’re increasingly seeing across both smartphones and laptops, with Apple possibly hell-bent on making everything a haptic experience.
If you don’t like the sound of these button changes, you’ll be pleased to hear that they seemingly won’t be coming to every new iPhone this year. The rumors suggest that the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models will continue to have two separate volume buttons and a mute switch if you want to rely on your usual iPhone muscle memory.