The iPhone 15 Pro might ditch the iconic mute switch in favor of something new

Render showing iPhone 15 Ultra in four colors

(Image credit: @Shaileshhari03)

We've been hearing rumors that Apple is going to ditch the clicky buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max for a while now. Instead, we've been told to expect capacitive buttons that vibrate instead.

Now a new report suggests that there could be more tweaks afoot, with Apple ditching the mute switch entirely. But don't worry, we'll get something else in its place although it might not be quite as good.

If the report is accurate, the mute switch will be replaced by a mute button which itself won't move, just like those new volume buttons.

(Not) getting clicky with it

YouTuber ZONEofTECH took to Twitter to comment on recently released CAD renders of the iPhone 15, saying that it would appear that a change to the buttons will include the volume up and volume down buttons being replaced by a single solid-state affair. We can expect that tapping one end of the button will increase the volume while tapping the other will reduce it.

They say that the difference in the number of mounting pins gives the game away.

If you look at the regular iPhone 15 CAD, you can see that it clearly has 2 individual button slots with 4 pins in total.Pretty sure that this means we’ll see a unified volume button on the 15 Pro.March 2, 2023

What's more, they go on to say that they're "100% sure that the mute switch will also switch to a singular press button rather than the up and down switch that we have now."

Not only that but 100% sure that the mute switch will also switch to a singular press button, rather than the up and down switch that we have now. Take a look at the iPhone 15 Pro CAD VS regular 15 & the inside of the buttons.March 2, 2023

This would suggest that the best iPhone you can buy this September won't have the mute switch that has been a staple of the iPhone lineup ever since it debuted in 2007.

While that might not make a huge difference for a lot of people, there will be one accessibility hit — we won't be able to tell what state the iPhone's ringer is in just by feeling the phone anymore. If you're someone who checks their phone is muted while it's in their pocket, you'll know what we mean.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max at an event this September. If the previous schedules are followed we can then expect the phones to be available for pre-order a few days later. They'll then go on sale the following Friday.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.