iPhone 15 Pro 'Action' Button to Replace Role of Volume Buttons When Performing a Power Off/Force Restart

Monday April 17, 2023 3:34 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models will introduce a new button press combination to power off and force restart the devices, according to an anonymous source who claims to be privy to details about the smartphones ahead of launch.

On newer iPhone models such as the iPhone 14, users currently power off their device by simultaneously pressing the Side button and either volume buttons, while the same buttons are used in another combination to perform a hard reset.

However, with the mute switch expected to be dropped in favor of a potentially customizable "Action" button, this latter new button will take on the role of the volume buttons when powering off/resetting the iPhone 15 Pro models, according to the leaker who goes by the Twitter alias @analyst941.

"The volume up and power button will no longer be used to power off the device, or 'force-restart' it," claimed the leaker in a tweet. "The sequence remains, but the combination will be changed to action and power button."

In a follow-up tweet, the leaker also claimed that the "Action" button will replace the volume up button for taking photos in the Camera app, with force-sensitivity enabling a light press to auto-focus the camera, a hard press to take a picture, and a hard/long press to record video.

At this point, it's important to take the second claim about Force Touch sensitive functions with a pinch of salt. Several other sources have indicated that Apple has encountered technical issues with capacitive buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro models and will now delay them for a later version of the iPhone. For what it's worth, @analyst941, who has been the source of previously accurate pre-launch information, disputes this claim and believes they are still coming to the iPhone 15 Pro.

A unified volume button was also a design planned for solid-state technology, but Apple is said to be opting to stick with the current design now that solid-state buttons have been delayed.

For more on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, we have a dedicated iPhone 15 Pro roundup that aggregates everything we've heard so far, and we also have a separate iPhone 15 roundup that gives a better idea of the differences between the Pro and non-Pro models.

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Top Rated Comments

zapmymac

45 months ago

DFU: what insane button combo will it be now?

Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

k1121j

45 months ago

Ughh I need a MUTE switch not some button that gets inadvertently pushed all the time. I already have enough screenshots I don’t want.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

boak

45 months ago

I just love how they change how buttons and their combinations work every 5 to 10 business days. It's weird that people can't turn off their phones by holding "side" (aka power) button...

This. I actually had to look it up the first time. Completely insane.

Intuition completely thrown out the window.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

coffeemilktea

45 months ago

Whew, I had so much anxiety over the weekend because I couldn't get my daily "what will happen with the iPhone 15's side buttons" article, so I'm really overjoyed that MacRumors came through for me and filled the volume button-shaped hole in my heart with this article. 😩

The world can be so harsh and the future so uncertain, but getting these articles at least once a day about what Apple may or may not do with the mute button and the volume buttons has really become my emotional anchor in life. 🤡

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

45 months ago

At this point, it's important to take the second claim about Force Touch sensitive functions with a pinch of salt.

Is pinch a greater amount than a grain? What are the quantities at which salt must be taken, and what does each amount imply?

A heaping of salt is certainly more than a pinch, and a pinch is certainly more than a grain…

…but when rumors are usually taken with a grain of salt, and pinch implies we should have less faith in the credibility of the rumor.

🧐 please help. I am very thirsty to know what the answer is now.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)