I'm surprised, I genuinely thought there'd be a couple more generations before going that way. Then again, what do I know?
Of course, as I've said elsewhere, the ultimate goal is no button at all, just haptic feedback to make it feel like there's a home button, so you know where to put your thumb for TouchID, etc. If they announce that this year, I'll truly be astonished. And now I really want them to announce it this year.
Another reason why it's very likely we'll see a waterproof/water-resistant iPhone. The only port that'll remain is the Lightning Connector!
We don't need the Home button to wake our phones anymore thanks to iOS 10's Raise to Wake feature and we don't need the Home button to enable the App Switcher.
The only issue I see is how you'd manage to do a reset. I guess you'd just apply pressure to the Home button while holding the Power/Wake button.
Force Touch on the MacBook works great. If you ask someone to try it who has never seen one they'd swear it was a physical button under the trackpad. If the iPhone version feels the same then this will be a fantastic update.
I've been playing around with my gf's Macbook for months and I didn't realize the trackpad was Force Touch until this thread. That's some authentic button simulation!
If the home button on the next iPhone does not physically move, it would borrow from a concept Apple already established last year with its Force Touch trackpad. Rather than physically clicking, the trackpad found on the 12-inch MacBook and new MacBook Pros simulates the feeling of a click with haptic feedback. ... A non-moving iPhone home button would presumably also need to do the same
All Force Touch and 3D Touch devices "move". The haptic feedback is induced by a horizontal vibration of the force/3D touch surface. If the surface vibrates horizontally in a short burst while you are pressing down on it, your brain creates an illusion of a vertical movement/actuation. This works really well on the trackpads. Not as well on the iPhones.
Looking forward to it on the iPhone if there is a linear oscillator just moving the home button. If so, it'll feel like it does on the trackpads versus what 3D Touch feels like on the 6S/6S Plus.
That's would make for a substantial reduction in chassis thickness. Yes people, that would represent impressive innovation. All facets of design must come together to produce a markedly thinner iPhone. Buy a battery case if 14 hours of heavy use or 35 hours of light use isn't enough. For the rest of the world, 6mm will be delightful.
The iPhone 6S is 7.1 mm. The iPhone 6S Plus is 7.3 mm.
Considering all the case leaks, it's looking unlikely that the 2016 models will be ~6 mm. They look about the same as the 6S is today.
No doubt Apple will sacrifice more battery life if they do make it thinner. I'm sure people would rather a phone that's actually useful for longer over shaving off another millimetre. Problem is too at the current thickness, just a millimetre reduction is around 25% less battery thickness.
when has one generation of a new iPhone *ever* sacrificed the battery life of the previous?
Just a millimetre reduction is around 25% less battery thickness.
interesting assumption, tho you might not be considering the fact that components shrink every iteration, including battery tech. Every new series of iPhone gains internal space due to the ever-miniaturization of components. This adds up to savings of a millimeter or two each new chassis design. That is unless a new feature is added, which takes up the gained real estate like 3D Touch did on the 6 series chassis.
Force touch on the MB is pretty cool, though I don't find myself using it regularly. iOS 10 makes much more use of 3D Touch on the 6S, and I use it there a fair bit.
No doubt Apple will sacrifice more battery life if they do make it thinner. I'm sure people would rather a phone that's actually useful for longer over shaving off another millimetre. Problem is too at the current thickness, just a millimetre reduction is around 25% less battery thickness.
when has one generation of a new iPhone *ever* sacrificed the battery life of the previous?
There have been times when the battery in terms of mAh, at least has been reduced for component changes. The 6S series over the 6 series, is an example, The room for the Haptic motor had to take up some of that battery space. I'm pretty sure there were some others either in terms of mAh or in how long Apple stated they could run various services straight through. For instance, when Apple moved to a Retina display in the iPhone the total video time may have been reduced even if the battery capacity had gotten larger.
I am glad that Apple focus their invention on enhancing and upgrading the Home Button. Of all the physical upgrades they could invest on, I always think Home Button should take first priority. It is the big elephant in the room if Apple decided to change the form of the phone. They must rethink how to design the Home Button if they ever wanted to get rid of the chin. By making it to mimic the 'press button' they can actually design it to be under the glass. But that's for the future.
when has one generation of a new iPhone *ever* sacrificed the battery life of the previous?
There have been times when the battery in terms of mAh, at least has been reduced for component changes. The 6S series over the 6 series, is an example, The room for the Haptic motor had to take up some of that battery space. I'm pretty sure there were some others either in terms of mAh or in how long Apple stated they could run various services straight through. For instance, when Apple moved to a Retina display in the iPhone the total video time may have been reduced even if the battery capacity had gotten larger.
I'm not referring to battery component capacities, which have varied over the years. I'm challenging the assumption that "battery life" will be reduced if they go thinner. that phrase is how normal people measure the phone's usability. no new iPhone has advertised fewer hours of use than a previous generation, and I very much doubt they will start now, despite getting thinner if this rumor is true.
it doesn't make sense to suggest they'd be sacrificing battery life by going thinner, since it implies they'd use the added volume of a thicker phone for additional battery volume, which they haven't been doing. rather, it seems Apple has a set amount of time they'd like an iPhone to achieve, and they work from that.
It is more likely for Apple to announce that they have achieved the thinnest iPhone ever with 25% more battery life. Or something like that, as opposed to: "Ladies and Gentlemen, iPhone is now 10% thinner but with 10% less battery life." - which I don't see will ever happened in Apple lifetime.
Yes, please! A non mechanical/haptic feedback home button is high on my wish list, since I've had faulty buttons on older iPhones. Waterproof would be nice to have as well, so bring it on. A darker shade of gray finish? Of course! I'd be very pleased if these 3 rumors would end up being true, alongside with improved cameras (dual in the case of the 7 Plus, which is the one I'll be getting). Looks like I'll be a happy kid this fall!
Comments
I'm surprised, I genuinely thought there'd be a couple more generations before going that way. Then again, what do I know?
Of course, as I've said elsewhere, the ultimate goal is no button at all, just haptic feedback to make it feel like there's a home button, so you know where to put your thumb for TouchID, etc. If they announce that this year, I'll truly be astonished. And now I really want them to announce it this year.
We don't need the Home button to wake our phones anymore thanks to iOS 10's Raise to Wake feature and we don't need the Home button to enable the App Switcher.
The only issue I see is how you'd manage to do a reset. I guess you'd just apply pressure to the Home button while holding the Power/Wake button.
Nah if they do that it'll start with next year's 10th anniversary model.
All Force Touch and 3D Touch devices "move". The haptic feedback is induced by a horizontal vibration of the force/3D touch surface. If the surface vibrates horizontally in a short burst while you are pressing down on it, your brain creates an illusion of a vertical movement/actuation. This works really well on the trackpads. Not as well on the iPhones.
Looking forward to it on the iPhone if there is a linear oscillator just moving the home button. If so, it'll feel like it does on the trackpads versus what 3D Touch feels like on the 6S/6S Plus.
Considering all the case leaks, it's looking unlikely that the 2016 models will be ~6 mm. They look about the same as the 6S is today.
it doesn't make sense to suggest they'd be sacrificing battery life by going thinner, since it implies they'd use the added volume of a thicker phone for additional battery volume, which they haven't been doing. rather, it seems Apple has a set amount of time they'd like an iPhone to achieve, and they work from that.
A non mechanical/haptic feedback home button is high on my wish list, since I've had faulty buttons on older iPhones.
Waterproof would be nice to have as well, so bring it on.
A darker shade of gray finish? Of course!
I'd be very pleased if these 3 rumors would end up being true, alongside with improved cameras (dual in the case of the 7 Plus, which is the one I'll be getting).
Looks like I'll be a happy kid this fall!
Force Touch Home Button, No 3.5mm jack...sounds like the iPhone is going waterproof. Or at least very close to it.