According to a new report, Apple has been working with Cirrus Logic, and the company said it planned to “bring a new HPMS component to market in smartphones next year.”
The company previously offered haptic drivers for Apple’s Taptic Engine, and investors have been putting two and two together for this rumor.
A previous investor note from Barclays suggested that a new haptics engine would be useful for solid-state buttons, allowing Apple to remove its traditional home and volume buttons in favor of new alternatives. The news follows a report from Ming-Chi Kuo, who similarly suggested that solid-state buttons will be coming.
If the reports are correct, the iPhone’s current volume and power buttons would no longer move but respond to the touch as if they do. Apple previously deployed this technology with its Touch ID home button on older iPhones and the iPhone SE.
Having fewer buttons allows Apple to cut costs and improve the water resistance and reliability of its iPhones. Haptic controls could even sit flush with the iPhone 15, allowing for an improved design and a sleeker finish.
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