Apple iPhone 15 Pro to Get New Action Button, Microprocessor and Solid State Buttons
Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 Pro is reportedly getting several exciting updates, according to a new leak from an anonymous source on Mac Rumors forums, who had also confirmed the new Dynamic Island for iPhones, months before it was launched.
A new “Action Button” borrowed from the Apple Watch
The iPhone 15 pro is set to have a new action button instead of the single-function mute ringer switch that iPhones have had since the original model, and will allow users to customize and program the button to perform various functions, such as opening apps, switching between modes, or triggering shortcuts. Apart from offering customizable functionalities, it will also help Apple in making the iPhone more waterproof.
Solid State Buttons replacing Volume and Power Buttons
Additionally, the iPhone 15 Pro is expected to feature solid-state buttons that do not click or move, which Apple has previously used for the Touch ID button on the iPhone SE and MacBook Force Touch trackpad. The new buttons will have a built-in taptic engine on each side that vibrates, creating the sensation of a real click.
New Microprocessor: Improved Power Consumption and Features
The new microprocessor, which replaces Apple’s super low energy mode built into the main chip, will enable the new solid-state buttons to function even when the device is off or has a dead battery.
Furthermore, the new microprocessor will improve power consumption and enable certain features, such as Find My Bluetooth, Ultra Wideband, and Apple Pay Express card features, to work even when the phone is off or has a dead battery. This feature allows users to track the location of their iPhone even when it is dead, a feature that is currently available on the iPhone.
Two Taptic Engines on the iPhone 15 Pro
According to the same anonymous source, the iPhone 15 Pro will come with two taptic engines while the regular iPhone 15 will continue to have only one. The new volume buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro may have two possible options for adjusting the volume: swiping up and down on the volume rocker itself or pressing each side of the volume rocker with varying degrees of pressure. The source claims that the new volume buttons will have one long volume rocker instead of individual buttons, similar to the AirPods Pro 2.
USB Type-C instead of Lightning Port
Apple is also planning to switch the Lightning port on its iPhone 15 devices to a USB-C port, in compliance with new regulations enforced in Europe. Credible sources, including Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, have previously confirmed Apple’s move to standardize charging across all Apple devices, including the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
The new USB-C port on the iPhone 15 Pro models will provide faster data transfers, while the standard iPhone 15 models will stick with the USB 2.0 speed, similar to Lightning. This difference gives the Pro models a competitive edge. Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that the iPhone 15 Pro models will support at least USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3, enabling the transfer of videos and other files at significantly faster speeds. USB 3.2 can deliver speeds of up to 20Gb/s, while Thunderbolt 3 can deliver up to 40Gb/s.
Conclusion
Apart from these new features, iPhone 15 Pro models will have a new 3nm A17 chip, a new 6X periscope lens, and Wi-Fi 6E. Non-Pro models will not see these changes through. Also, we can see the removal of sim card tray for even more countries this year. Earlier we reported how, Apple iPhone SE 4 will use Apple’s first in-house 5G modem first.
The leaks have yet to be confirmed by Apple, but they seem plausible given the sources. If true, these new features will greatly enhance the user experience of the iPhone 15 Pro. Apple has not yet announced an official release date for the iPhone 15 Pro, but it is expected to be launched sometime in the fall of 2023.
