iPhone 15 Pro Mute button design overhaul in-the-works; multi-purpose makeover likely

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max's mute button is tipped to get a major makeover this year. It could potentially be customizable and will work like the Action button on the Apple Watch Ultra. Now, a reputed leaker, analyst941, took to Twitter to reveal that the Action button will have extensive new capabilities, such as taking over the power off and force restart functions currently managed by the volume buttons.

"The volume up + power button will no longer be used to power off the device, or "force-restart" it. The sequence remains, but the combination will be changed to action + power button," the leakster tweeted. The latest leak aligns with previous information from last month, which indicated that Apple is working on a specialized chip that enables the Action button to operate even when the phone is switched off or out of power.

Additionally, analyst941 says that the Action button will take on the functionality of the volume up button when capturing photos, and will also include new shortcut options. A light press will focus the camera, a hard press will capture a photo, and a hard press followed by a long hold will capture or record video, the leak suggested. The added controls, as per analyst941, are made possible by pressure sensitivity in the Action button.

Forbes report also suggests that if this leak is true, then support for multiple input recognition is unlikely to be restricted to the power and camera functions. It says that Apple may bring this customization feature to other applications. "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 the new technology out the gate," the report mentioned.