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Apple has ordered a large number of capacitive button components from a supplier in Taiwan, allegedly for use in an upcoming series iPhone 16, claims a new report from Asia. According to Economic Daily News, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering won the order, which it says includes system-in-package (SIP) modules that will be used to integrate sealing components with two Taptic Engines, one on each side of the iPhone.
The report claims that Apple will replace the existing physical buttons on both sides of the iPhone 15 with capacitive versions that will provide users with iPhone 16 tactile feedback. The latter type of button detects a press and emulates a physical button press using a tactile (or Taptic) mechanism that generates a vibration.
Apple may have ordered the buttons in preparation for future production plans, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're destined to be used in this year's iPhone 16 models.
The earliest known iPhone 16 prototypes were believed to include tactile power and volume buttons. Project Bongo, as it was called internally, was a redesign of the volume and power buttons on the iPhone 15. However, according to sources, it was canceled in 2023 due to unresolved technical issues. After canceling the Bongo project, Apple returned to mechanical buttons for the iPhone 16.
As a result, most rumors suggest that the iPhone 16 models will have fully mechanical buttons, and this is rumored to be the addition of a fourth button. According to The Information, Apple will add a new "capture button" to all iPhone 16 models, but the button is expected to be mechanical rather than capacitive, and still able to respond to pressure and touch.
The button will be used to capture photos and videos, and iPhone users will reportedly be able to zoom in and out by swiping left and right, focus with a light press, and activate recording with a harder press.
Today's report claims mass production of the capacitive components will begin in the third quarter of this year, which is extremely late in terms of Apple's typical iPhone initial production run, so the order may be for the iPhone 17 lineup rather than future models this year. With everything we've seen with the iPhone 15 series, things can change quite far down the line, so watch this space.
