Apple supplier Cirrus Logic has seemingly confirmed that iPhone 15 Pro models will not feature solid-state buttons. The revelation came in the company’s shareholder letter on Thursday.
“That said, among the HPMS opportunities we have discussed, a new product that we mentioned in previous shareholder letters as being scheduled for introduction this fall is no longer expected to come to market as planned,” the letter states. “As we have limited visibility into our customer’s future plans for this product at this time, we are removing the revenue associated with this component from our internal model.”
HPMS refers to Cirrus Logic’s high-performance mixed-signal chips, which include haptic drivers for the Taptic Engine in iPhones. In a shareholder letter last November, the Texas-based semiconductor company said it continues to “engage with a strategic customer” and that it expected to “bring a new HPMS component to market in smartphones next year.” Apple is Cirrus Logic’s largest customer and accounted for 79% of its revenue in the 2022 fiscal year.
In January, Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo repeated his claim that iPhone 15 Pro models would be equipped with solid-state volume and power buttons. Kuo also said that other high-end devices could follow suit in the future if the change is well received. Cirrus Logic likely would have provided related components.
Then, in April. Kuo reversed course, saying iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max handsets will not feature solid-state buttons due to “unresolved technical issues before mass production.” He now expects the devices to have traditional buttons that move when pressed.
Other rumors have suggested the Ring/Silent switch on the iPhone 15 Pro lineup will be replaced with a button as previously claimed, and this button could possibly be customizable, much like the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra.
