2017 iPhone will have 'virtual button' built into edge-to-edge display - report

A 2017 iPhone mockup.

Next year's flagship iPhone will have a "full-screen face," with an embedded "virtual button," a report said on Tuesday, reinforcing some other recent rumors about Apple's expected redesign.

The new claim, an aside in the New York Times' iPhone 7 review, is said to stem from two anonymous sources at Apple. The people didn't reveal any other information about the future device, such as whether or not it will also embed other front-facing components like Touch ID or the FaceTime camera.

Even though the iPhone 7 is only set to ship on Friday, rumors have already begun to turn to its 2017 successor, which could be a major redesign marking the iPhone's 10th anniversary.

Its main feature is expected to be an edge-to-edge OLED display, which may even be curved on one of three models like Samsung's Edge-series phones. The product could offer iris scanning as a new security method.

Figuring out how to handle front-facing components may be one of Apple's tougher challenges. A "virtual button" would have to combine the iPhone 7's pressure-sensitive technology with some sort of onscreen representation, possibly even when the phone is otherwise sleeping. It's also unclear how Apple would handle Touch ID, one option in theory being turning to iris scanning as a replacement.

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27 Comments

macxpress

said about 7 years ago

Seems like they would have done this on the iPhone 7, but one of the issues I see (and maybe they're trying to figure this out) is spurious presses of the button if its a flat button with feedback using the taptic engine. The mockup isn't terrible and it would be nice to be able to change what buttons are on each side of the home button if they can also somehow control spurious inputs of those buttons. I can just picture accidentally turning on the flashlight in your pocket and it running the battery down, or turning the camera on and taking many many photos while in your pocket.

cali

said about 7 years ago

Hahaha. The old "iPhone 7 mockup" is now a "2017 iPhone mockup".

Can we hold the next iPhone rumors until iPhone 7 releases at least?

retrogusto

said about 7 years ago

Sounds great. Too bad the supply constraints will lead to limited availability at release.

But seriously (sort of), they should update that mock-up with the current antenna lines, at least. And is that a headphone jack I see on the bottom left?

lighteningkid

said about 7 years ago

"Full-screen face"? Shouldn't that more accurately be "full-face screen"?

king editor the grate

said about 7 years ago

macxpress said:

I can just picture accidentally turning on the flashlight in your pocket and it running the battery down, or turning the camera on and taking many many photos while in your pocket.

I checked time while playing golf a few years ago, and next time I grabbed my phone, it nearly burned my hand. Turns out I accidentally swiped up to the camera mode while putting it in pocket. Poor thing was desperately trying to focus in a sea of black.