New iPhone 7 Rumor Reaffirms Touch-Sensitive Home Button

When it comes to rumors about upcoming products, Mac Otakara‘s past success rate is sketchy, but that doesn’t mean its latest claim can be immediately discounted. That claim is an interesting one, with the outlet reporting that the iPhone 7 will not feature the familiar Home button that has adorned all iPhones before it, instead opting for a touch-based button rather than a physical one.

In a rumor that has popped up a few times over the last few months, the report believes that Apple would use Force Touch technology to mimic a hardware button’s depression, giving users the belief that they just pressed a real button when really all they did was cause the device to respond via haptic feedback.

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Apple already does this with the trackpad on some of its MacBook range, and as anyone who has used one will attest, the technology certainly works. In fact, it’s so good that many people refuse to believe that the trackpad does not feature a physical button and never actually moves. If similar technology was to be used on an iPhone, we can certainly expect it to work well.

While by no means proof that this report is accurate, it is important to note that similar claims have already been made by DigiTimes, amongst others, suggesting that there may be some smoke to go with this particular fire.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7 in September with a release date pencilled in for the middle of the month. If that is indeed the case, and we think it is, then it’s possible we will see this cleared up once and for all soon enough, even if it’s via a new report or leak closer to the time rather than official word from Apple.

Having had physical Home buttons fail in the past, we’re all for this idea. Make it happen, Apple.

(Source: Mac Otakara [Google Translate] | Top image: iPhone 7 concept render by Martin Hajek)

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