The iPhone 15 was supposed to have tactile buttons, but they were abandoned. This is how they worked

One of the most talked about improvements to the new iPhone 15 Pro was A tactile keyboard that will replace traditional volume and power keys.. In addition, this feature was quickly positioned as one of the main innovations of the new smartphone, although Apple eventually canceled it. In fact, the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro were announced with physical buttons, and the action button was one of the biggest changes to the Pro variants. What exactly were these tactile buttons? And the most important thing, Why did Apple ultimately abandon them?

The haptic keyboard on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is actually part of a much larger project than we could have imagined. Apple called it Bongo Project. And the goal was for the new models to undergo not only aesthetic changes, but also functional changes. In fact, tactile buttons They were going to eliminate the slight protrusion of traditional keys., making the sides of the iPhone completely flat. They will also provide new ways to control things like volume.

The new keypad that was supposed to appear on the iPhone 15 Pro, in particular, Simulate pressing a traditional button using haptic vibration which, in turn, was carried out thanks to a small vibration motor located under the chassis. This is actually a very similar feature to what some iPhone models have with Touch ID. Explained in a more technical way, and as it turns out Macrumorsit will work like this.

• When the user pressed the button, a slight pressure was generated, which was registered by a flexible system located under the button.
• The iPhone 15 Pro will also feature a so-called strain gauge sensor. This is a sensor that detects changes in pressure and converts it into electrical resistance that can be measured. This will send a signal to the motherboard indicating that the button has been pressed.
• In turn, the logical plague will transfer energy to the tactile motor, which is responsible for generating vibration.
• This vibration will be perceived by the user. This will also generate a slight upward movement, creating the sensation of pressing a physical button.

Why did they abandon tactile buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro?

Apple also developed a special motor for the iPhone 15 Pro keyboard. They named him “Bongo-haptic motor”. It consists of a jet engine. Capable of generating faster vibrations than traditional vibration motor — like the ones we see on Android phones—. The “Bongo Haptic Engine” will allow, for example, to vibrate depending on the speed at which we increase or decrease the volume.

But why were they cancelled? The tactile keyboard has reached one of the final phases of its development. In particular, before engineering verification tests, but in the end Apple canceled its inclusion in the iPhone 15 Pro due to “unsatisfactory test results and high equipment failure rate”, describes the above media in detail. After this, Apple decided to include a traditional button bar similar to what we see in the rest of the iPhone models.

This tactile keypad would certainly bring more than just a slight aesthetic change to the iPhone 15 Pro. This would also mean important volume button modificationmaking it only one key and allowing you to raise and lower the sound by sliding your finger rather than pressing.