At this point, Apple might as well just put the iPhone 15 up for preorder. According to the latest series of leaks, several smaller rumors have seemingly been confirmed as a full picture of this year’s update comes into view.
The first leak comes courtesy of 9to5Mac, confirming an earlier rumor by @ZoneofTech on Twitter that claimed the iPhone 15 will have a single ”LONG Unified Volume button, rather than 2 separate ones.” 9to5Mac adds that Apple “will ditch the separate volume up and volume down buttons for a new single button that works both ways depending on where the user presses it.”
Apple used a volume rocker for the first three iPhones as well as the iPhone 6 and 6s, but has used separate volume up and down buttons since the iPhone 7. According to reports, the button on the iPhone 15 Pro models will be capacitive, meaning they won’t move but the software will give the appearance of movement, like the trackpad on the MacBooks.
Even more interesting is the mute switch, which has been a mainstay since the original model launched in 2007. While Apple isn’t taking it away, 9to5Mac reports it will become a “pressing type” button instead of a switch. It’s not clear from the report how it would work, but users will presumably need to either long-press or force-press it to silence the phone. That’s a distinct change from the current switch that lets you quickly silence your iPhone without even looking at the screen.
Meanwhile, a separate leak from ShrimpApplePro on Twitter showed off three of the iPhone 15 glass panels with significantly smaller bezels and the addition of the Dynamic Island to all models. The video appears to show off two smaller displays and a larger one, which would presumably be the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and iPhone 15 Pro.
Some rumors have reported that Apple is increasing the size of the iPhone 15 to 6.2 inches, which could account for the three sizes: 6.1 inches for the iPhone 15 Pro, 6.2 inches for the iPhone 15, and 6.7 inches for the iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra.
For all the latest news and rumors about this year’s new handsets, visit our regularly updated iPhone 15 superguide.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.