The iPhone 15 Pro Max is based on several leaks.
@HansTSaiz
05/08 update below. This post was originally published on May 6.
For weeks, reports have suggested that Apple’s most controversial iPhone 15 Pro update has been canceled. Now one of the company’s key suppliers has confirmed it in a thinly veiled statement to shareholders that could divide opinion among iPhone fans.
The vendor is Cirrus Logic, and it provides haptic (vibration) feedback components for iPhones. In November, the company revealed an expanded partnership that brings a new high-performance mixed-signal (HPMS) chip to a key strategic partner. Rumors exploded, and several leaks in the coming months revealed plans to replace the physical volume rocker on iPhone 15 Pro models with solid-state buttons — buttons that would activate the HMPS chip.
Well, not anymore. In a new shareholder statement this week, Cirrus Logic wrote:
That said, among the HPMS opportunities we’ve discussed, a new product we’ve mentioned in previous stock letters that was scheduled for launch this fall is not expected to come to market as planned. Because we have limited visibility into our clients’ future plans at this time, we remove the revenue associated with this component from our internal model. While this is an undeniable failure, we are proud to have executed this program. Our customer relationships are very strong as we continue to collaborate on various technologies and products in the HPMS space.
Cerrus excepted to name Apple when it revealed a strategic partner with a “new product” planned for the fall. Apple further hints at the notorious secrecy surrounding the iPhone when it highlights “limited visibility into our customers’ future plans for this product.”
Cirrus may be very clear in its description, given the amount of leaks in recent weeks that claim the iPhone 15 Pro’s solid-state buttons have been removed. Shareholders were worried, and the statement explained the situation.
The news is likely to polarize iPhone fans. On the one hand, solid-state volume buttons can be more durable and water-resistant. There’s also the possibility that they could support customizable functions in the software, including shortcuts and fingerprints.
On the downside, the solid-state keys of leaked CDs almost collided with the phone, making it difficult to work in muscle memory, and requiring a dedicated chip to work felt like over-engineering to fix a problem no one had ever encountered.
What may remain, however, is the new function key — a customizable button that replaces the mute switch on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. The action button was first introduced on the Apple Watch Ultra and was well received.
Beyond that, iPhone 15 buyers can expect a new Pro-friendly design with a tablet cutout and flexible island as well as USB-C, while Pro models will get ultra-slim bezels and a next-gen A17 chip, as well as an optical zoom camera exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Will this be enough to test the improvements? I suspect the usual pattern will continue: lots of online grumbling about incremental upgrades followed by high sales of switching to USB-C.
05/08 Update: More leaks have surfaced about Apple’s plans for solid-state volume buttons, and Apple’s plans only hit a speed bump instead of a dead end.
In the latest Power On Newsletter from Bloomberg Mark Gurman He said the delay in bringing the new buttons to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models will “surge” in cost and complexity to the company, and they will now start in the 2024 iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.
This account differs from other leaks, which Apple said was unhappy with the implementation due to usability issues. Whether this is due to the way they work or show them that multiple CDs are integrated into the chassis, making muscle memory difficult, is unknown.
Either way, Gurman’s data paints a simplistic picture amid rumors of iPhone price hikes and little push from Apple fans or expectations to change the existing physical volume buttons.
Moreover, history shows that Apple rarely abandons a project completely (even AirPower is considered dead by several industry sources), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it eventually returns. Let the iPhone 16 leaks begin!
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