Ming-Chi Kuo confirms iPhone 15 Pro will have new style power and volume buttons for better water resistance

TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today reiterated that Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro series models will have solid-state power and volume buttons, adding that if the change is well-received warmly, other high-end devices are likely to follow in the future. Presumably, this will include the iPad Pro and perhaps the Apple Watch Ultra.

Ming-Chi Kuo previously said that the iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with two more Taptic Engines, which will provide haptic feedback when the button is pressed, but the button won’t actually move. This is similar to the solid-state Home button introduced on the iPhone 7 and the Force Touch trackpad on the MacBook.

In a series of tweets today, Kuo indicated that Cirrus Logic, the supplier of the driver IC chips for the iPhone’s Taptic Engine, would benefit from this change.

Kuo said that due to this design change, the number of Taptic Engines used on each iPhone will increase from one to three currently. Therefore, existing Taptic Engine suppliers Luxshare Precision (first supplier) and AAC Technologies (second supplier) will be significant beneficiaries. It is expected that high-end Android phones will also follow Apple’s design to create new selling points, which is structurally positive for the mobile phone vibration module industry.

Do users understand that the solid-state buttons on the iPhone do not have any other buttons on the surface to help better waterproof. Of course this will only be on the standard iPhone 15, and the iPhone 15 Plus is expected to still have traditional physical buttons.