The next iPhone may not have physical buttons.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Could it be time to write an obituary for iPhone buttons? According to the latest rumors about Apple’s next smartphone, theiPhone 13 could go buttonless. But if the iPhone 12 is the last to have those little bars on the side, how will you control your iPhone?
A US patent application spotted by Apple Insider suggests the company is investigating “capacitive sensing input devices.” Apparently these input devices, aka buttons, will be “invisible backlit holes” that appear when touched and disappear when not in use.
This approach sounds pretty slick and will no doubt add a bit of elegance if applied to any device. The big question is whether a feature like this will find its way into the next iteration of the iPhone, or if we have to wait until 2022 or beyond in order to see Apple integrate it. It’s not an entirely wild concept and fits with other possible changes Apple may make to future iPhones.
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Read more: iPhone 13 release date rumors and why it might actually be called the iPhone 12S
The iPhone 13 might have a fingerprint reader embedded behind its display like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G.
Sarah Tew/CNET
For example, there’s been talk of the iPhone 13 regaining a fingerprint scanner. Instead of a physical reader, though, the new scanner would live under the surface of the phone’s screen. It’s a tactic that certainly matches a buttonless, minimalist design aesthetic should Apple choose to go this route.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman commented on the rumors about the fingerprint scanner, called Touch ID, in an August Power On Newsletter. Gurman speculates that the under-screen Touch ID sensor “won’t make the cut” for the iPhone 13. He says that Apple will embed Face ID under the display instead of Touch ID.
Apple already killed the headphone jack in the iPhone 7
back in 2016, and rumors suggest the Lightning port might be getting the ax as well. If the iPhone 13 nixes its Lightning port and goes all-in on wireless charging, it would become Apple’s first completely portless phone. Why not add buttonless to the mix?
Of course this patent application could be associated with an entirely different product than the iPhone. After all, much of what we think we know about Apple’s anticipated handset is conjecture. Even its product name is uncertain. However, one thing is clear: All these mysteries will be dispelled at Apple’s next iPhone launch event, likely to be held in September.