Apple has seemingly let slip confirmation that the iPhone 15 Pro will ditch the mute switch and replace it with a multi-functional action button.
It’s long been rumoured that the forthcoming iPhone 15 Pro will start doing away with physical buttons in favour of ‘taptic’ alternatives, starting with that iconic mute switch. But now we appear to have received confirmation straight from the horse’s mouth.
Apple released the fourth iOS 17 beta to developers earlier this week, which serves as a preview of the operating system that will ship with the iPhone 15 range. In amongst the code, MacRumors noticed a reference to a new Action button with nine potential functions that can be dictated by the user.
These nine functions are labeled as Accessibility, Shortcuts, Silent Mode, Camera, Flashlight, Focus, Magnifier, Translate, and Voice Memos.
While there’s no elaboration on what these terms mean, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to see what this means. This is clearly a new contextual button that will offer instant access to popular tasks. The inclusion of Silent Mode pretty much seals the deal.
Besides the death of the mute switch, the iPhone 15 range is expected to see Apple transitioning away from its bespoke Lightning connector, and replacing it with the universal USB-C standard.
We’re also expecting the full range to adopt Apple’s Dynamic Island notch system, which debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 15 family could also be in line for a slightly more rounded design after several successive generations of flat, angular phones.
Coming back to the iPhone 15 Pro specifically, aside from an action button there have been rumours that it might also adopt a new periscope lens camera, which would bolster its zooming chops.
