iPhone 15 Pro Solid-State Button Sensitivity Can Be Customized to Cater for Cases and Gloves - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iPhone 15 Pro Solid-State Button Sensitivity Can Be Customized to Cater for Cases and Gloves

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max users will be able to customize the sensitivity of the solid-state buttons on their device, thanks to a new sensitivity toggle in Settings. That's according to details provided by a hitherto reliable source that shared additional details on the MacRumors forums.

iPhone 15 Pro Multi Purpose button Mute Switch Feature Green 2
Earlier this week, the same anonymous tipster revealed that the iPhone 15 Pro models will use a new ultra-low energy chip allowing the new volume, power, and "Action" solid-state buttons to remain functional when the handset is powered off or out of battery.

Some iPhone users immediately raised concerns about how the new capacitive buttons will work properly when a case is fitted or when gloves are worn. In response, the tipster has revealed that iOS 17 will include a new toggle in Settings that will enable users to customize the sensitivity of the buttons to accommodate these different usage scenarios.

iPhone case makers typically receive design details about Apple's upcoming models ahead of launch that allows them to make tweaks for button positioning and other external changes. Combined with the new sensitivity setting, this should avoid any potential issues with the peculiarities of the new capacitive buttons, which will detect presses, holds, and respond to various levels of pressure via the use of a new Force Touch-style mechanism and Taptic Engine feedback.

In line with previous rumors, solid-state capacitive buttons are expected to be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro models, with the standard iPhone 15 models retaining the same traditional button mechanism as on the iPhone 14 series. The iPhone 15 Pro is also gaining a new customizable Action button in lieu of the mute switch, with a unified volume button replacing the separate up/down volume buttons.

The iPhone 15 series is expected to be announced in September, as per Apple's typical iPhone launch timeframe. For everything else we know about the new iPhone 15 series, check out our dedicated roundups using the links below.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...
Apple Logo Sketch Feature

Apple Has Now Unveiled Eight New Products This Month

Tuesday March 17, 2026 9:25 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping eight new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, and now the AirPods Max 2 this week. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as the iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

Aleh Avatar
39 months ago
People can be so tiring. You don’t have to like the changes but acting willfully ignorant isn’t needed either. These buttons will have new functionality and will be more durable with time and yet we always get all these comments going on about “change for change’s sake” and “solutions in search of problems” and it’s just so bizarre to me.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andyadler Avatar
39 months ago
Why do I get the feeling that this is a solution in search of a problem?
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
39 months ago
That’s great! Reminds me of Touch Bar. But I still want Apple to leave the Mute Button alone.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
akb Avatar
39 months ago
I've used a phone with at least a few physical buttons every day for over 2 decades and never had one fail. You can't replicate the feedback and utility of a physical button with solid state.

This is Apple dangling a pointless upgrade carrot, or a cost saving drive that won't be passed onto the consumer - or both.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zakarhino Avatar
39 months ago

Why do I get the feeling that this is a solution in search of a problem?
The same argument could be made for 3D touch but in my opinion that actually made certain tasks faster (in particular Peek, one of the most useful features ever). The long press haptic version of Peek is slower and speed is everything especially for power users and young people that use their phones at 1,000mph.

Because these buttons will be pressure sensitive and work in conjunction with haptics you can create a volume rocker that lets you instantly mute without holding down the Volume Down button for a couple seconds. It also means the Volume Up Camera trigger button can operate like a two stage trigger whenever you're taking a picture.

Usually I hate these Apple "innovations" that actually make your life harder (touch bar) but this is the rare instance I get the vision and I'm excited. I think this will end up being a feature loved by a lot doubters but it's all dependent on a rock solid implementation.

Also my initial reaction to the solid state (no rocker) Mute switch was confusion but it makes complete sense. I've seen so many other people like myself on here that hardly ever use the mute switch because we always keep our phones in vibrate mode anyway. Instead I find myself frequently using the Lock Rotation switch. The problem with having a two state hardware rocker switch is that you cannot sync it with a software switch so the only solution is to make a solid state toggle button instead. This new design will let you remap the Mute button into something you use all the time without the out-of-sync issue I mentioned. I suspect Apple will implement a unique taptic 'feel' for 'on' and 'off' respectively so you can figure out the state of the button without actually looking at your phone.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrr Avatar
39 months ago
Hope it works when the battery is dead
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: World News | Mac | Ipad | Politics | Local News