The possibility that the home button will disappear from the iPhone next to "iPhone 7"

ByKārlis Dambrāns

In local time it was just announced on 7th September 2016 "IPhone 7/7 PlusHowever, it is rumored that the home button will be gone "on the next-generation iPhone."

IPhone 7 Review: Though Not Perfect, New iPhones Keep Apple's Promises - The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/technology/personaltech/iphone-7-review-though-not-perfect-new-iphones-keep-apples-promises.html


Apple's next iPhone probably will not have a home button | The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/13/12902366/iphone-2017-virtual-home-button


According to The New York Times, the home button of the current iPhone 8 (tentative name), which is the next model of the iPhone 7, has been abolished and a home button called "virtual button" directly mounted on the display is installed It is said that. If this rumor is realized, the iPhone 8 display will be able to cover the entire front of the terminal, so you can install a larger display with the same size cabinet as before, or use a more compact terminal with a conventional display size It becomes feasible.

The rumor that this "home button will disappear in the next iPhone" was one that was raised several times in the past,BloombergYaThe Wall Street JournalIn the media such as "In the next iPhone the home button is gone", "The display from the end to the end of the terminal" has been reported.

IPhone 8 wireless charging · Removing the home button · Installing the OLED display and so on are major changes - GIGAZINE


The bold idea of ​​abolishing the home button and adopting the "virtual button" is also a story that is probably because Apple, which discontinued the earphone jack on the iPhone 7/7 Plus. Also, because the current home button occupies many areas on the iPhone, and there are dead spaces where no buttons are arranged on either side of the iPhone, it seems likely that a redesign of the home button is likely There is. However, what does this "virtual button" look like is unknown at all, will it look something like displaying Android a baum button on the screen, or will Apple make some unique idea I do not know if it is warming up.

Also, the iPhone's home button does not only play the role of "returning to the home screen". Touch ID of the fingerprint authentication function is an important function installed in the iPhone's home button, and if the home button is gone, this function is also required to change shape somehow. As with the Xperia series it will be to install a fingerprint authentication function on the power button of the terminal or only the fingerprint authentication function will be moved to the back of the terminal like an Android terminal equipped with many other fingerprint authentication functions Whether or not a completely different alternative is adopted is currently unknown.


In addition, in the iPhone 7/7 Plus, the home button has been reborn, and it has evolved so that pressure can be sensed like a display by linking with Taptic Engine. Whether this new home button is abolished in just one year, attention gathers.