Next-gen iPhones to reportedly skip Mute Switch, get Action Button instead

Rumours around the next iPhone have already started surfacing on the web. Amidst the noise around an Ultra variant and folding iPhones, we may have something a little more concrete to look forward to – the missing Mute Switch on all the iPhones next year.

As per a MacRumors report, the entire 2024 iPhone lineup may feature an Action Button. This will replace the sliding Mute Switch, which has been on iPhones since the very first one launched in 2007.

iPhone 16 Action Button: What we know so far

However, there is a major change. The entire iPhone lineup is expected to reportedly feature a capacitive iteration of the Action Button instead of the clickable one. This means instead of pressing down on a tactile button, users could be pressing on a capacitive area, similar to the TouchID sensor on the iPhone SE.

ALSO READ: iPhone 15 models compared

This could switch things up a bit from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max this year, both of which feature a physically clickable Action Button. This allows users to long press the button to mute the phone or toggle a number of other settings including focus modes or the torch, should a user choose to do so.

The capacitive button, however, may choose to finally accept multiple inputs, something that the Action Button is missing this year. This would allow users to, say, preset two different actions to tapping and long pressing the button. While we’d still pick the tactile feedback of a regular button, extra functionality may just be enough to change that.

The report also mentions that Apple had initially planned to bring these upgrades to the iPhone 15 Pro variants, but technical issues didn’t allow the brand to go ahead with this plan, leaving the iPhone 15 Pro series with a physical button.

ALSO READ: What all can you do with the iPhone 15’s USB Type-C port?

Regardless, if we see the Action Button replace the mute switch on the non-Pro iPhones next year, it would signal the farewell of a second signature iPhone feature in as many years. That’s because Apple also moved on from its notch design this year by implementing its Dynamic Island across all four variants of the iPhone 15 series.

Keep in mind that this is all just speculation for now, and given how far we actually are from the launch of the next iPhone (which could take place in September 2024), a lot can happen in the time in between. The only way to surely know what designs Apple has in mind for the next iPhone, is to wait for the official announcement, and knowing Apple, that isn’t happening anytime soon.