iPhone 7 Could Feature New Force Touch Sensitive Home Button

Despite the rumors that Apple’s forthcoming ‘iPhone 7’ isn’t expected to feature many physical design changes over the iPhone 6s — aside, of course, from the device’s inherent lack of a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a new report brought to our attention today appears to suggest that at least one other, minor change might be impending.

Citing a series of in-person “field checks” to substantiate its claims, analysts at Cowen and Company have gone on record suggesting that Apple’s impending ‘iPhone 7’ might feature an all-new touch-sensitive ‘Force Touch’ enabled home button. That means, according to the analysts, that in place of the traditional press-to-click home button that’s ornamented Apple’s iPhone for almost a decade now, the forthcoming handset’s home button will “sit flush with the rest of the phone.”

Similar to the Force Touch trackpad on Apple’s 12-inch MacBook, later-model MacBook Pros, and 2nd-generation Magic Trackpad 2, the home button on ‘iPhone 7’ is rumored to provide users with a haptic feedback response as assurance that the button has been pressed — even though in reality it can’t be “pressed” in the traditional sense of the concept.

Here’s a brief snippet from Apple’s website about how exactly ‘Force Touch’ works — just in case you were curious, or haven’t yet tried it out for yourself:

“The Force Touch trackpad includes a Taptic engine, a linear actuator that provides haptic feedback. So when the force sensors senses a user click on the trackpad, the Taptic Engine issues haptic feedback to the user to give a feeling that he or she has pressed the trackpad, though in reality it isn’t moving at all. This feedback relies on a phenomenon called lateral force fields (LFFs), which can cause humans to experience vibrations as haptic ‘textures’. This can give you the feel of a ‘clickable’ surface or even depth. The Force Touch feature of the new trackpad allows you to press ‘deeper’, giving you additional levels of tapping feedback.”

Of course, this is by no means the first time we’ve heard rumors about ‘iPhone 7’ featuring a touch-sensitive home button. Back in April of this year, for instance, we originally reported on rumors that Apple’s forthcoming flagship would not only feature a touch-sensitive home button, but that the device would also be waterproof and dustproofed. Although, as it stands, all three of those rumors still remain unconfirmed, this most recent churning from the rumor mill is at least added fuel to the fire of the foremost among them.

In any case, it won’t be too long until we find out exactly what Apple has in store for us — considering that the ‘iPhone 7’ will almost certainly be released some time during the 3rd quarter of the year.

What do you think about a ‘Force Touch’ sensitive iPhone home button? Let us know in the comments!

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]