Apple Leak Details All-New iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max Features
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iPhone 15 Pro renders based on its new leaked dark red finish
04/22 Update below. This post was originally published on April 19
The saga of Apple’s new iPhone 15 Pro Action button just took a surprising twist. According to a leaker analyst941, the Action button will have wide-ranging new functionality, including taking over the power off and force restart functionality currently controlled by the volume buttons.
“The volume up + power button will no longer be used to power off the device, or force-restart it,” states the leaker. “The sequence remains, but [the] combination will be changed to action + power button.”
While this would mess with years of muscle memory, it actually makes sense in conjunction with a leak last month which claims Apple is developing a dedicated chip that allows the Action button to work even when the phone is off or out of battery.
In addition, analyst941 claims the Action button will replace the functionality of the volume up button when taking a photo, as well as adding new shortcut options:
- Light press: auto-focuses the camera
- Hard press: captures photo
- Hard press + long-hold: captures/records video
According to analyst941, these additional controls are enabled by pressure sensitivity in the Action button. This is akin to 3D Touch (Force Touch on a MacBook trackpad), with the new solid-state Action button recognizing light, hard and long presses.
If correct, support for multiple input recognition is unlikely to be restricted to the power and camera, with Apple using it for other apps. It could also be a boon for gamers, though it is unknown whether Apple would open up access to the Action button to developers, with the company known to be cautious with new technology out the gate.
Ultimately, however, the potential for a multi-function, programmable external button on the iPhone is huge.
The iPhone 15 Pro Action buttons based on leaked designs
It won’t be the only change either with record-breakingly thin bezels for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, an optical zoom camera for the latter and USB-C connectivity introduced for the whole range. Apple is also expected to introduce a new textured finish for…
