Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple is preparing to take a bolder step than removing the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7. According to Kuo, the new high-end iPhones will feature touch-sensitive keys instead of physical power and volume control keys.The working principle of this feature, which is planned to be implemented on the iPhone 15 Pro models that will be released next year, will be similar to the Home button on the iPhone 7, 8, SE 2 and 3, where the keypress is simulated using the Taptic Engine vibration.
The number of vibration motors increases to three
Apple will increase the number of Taptic Engine vibration motors on the device to three to give users the feeling of pressing physical keys. The elimination of physically recessed keys will also increase the waterproof feature of smartphones. On the other hand, physical keys will continue to exist on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models.
The planned design change will also reflect positively on suppliers. Apple currently supplies the Taptic Engine from Luxshare ICT (1st supplier) and AAC Technologies (2nd supplier). Therefore, increasing the vibration motor from one to three will benefit these companies.
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