There has been news that Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro series will feature solid-state buttons, but renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweeted in April that Apple had removed the solid-state button design from this year’s iPhone due to “unresolved technical issues” and returned to the original solid button design.
This news was also mentioned by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter. While the iPhone 15 Pro did come with the new buttons, they have been “deprecated” from the production version.
He cites “manufacturing complexity, higher associated costs and software integration issues” as the main reasons for the delay, and Gurman claims that the feature is destined for adoption next year, presumably with the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max.
So far, Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will feature a narrower bezel, a titanium body with more rounded edges, a new 3nm A17 processor, and a USB-C port.
In addition, Gurman touched on the low-cost iPhone issue that is on everyone’s mind. Commenting on Apple’s earnings report, he noted that the Indian market has become critical for Apple. But in reality, Apple’s iPhone pricing in India is more expensive than in the US.
He argued that while Apple may never launch a new iPhone for less than $300 (Currently about RMB 2073), it could sell its older SE model as a cost-effective alternative, and he suggested that Apple drop the previous version to $199 (currently about RMB 1375).
