New Apple Patent Points Out That Future iPhone Models Could Feature More Customizable Physical Buttons

The Cupertino-based tech giant, Apple, seems to have some sort of affiliation towards physical buttons as after the introduction of the action button on pro models of last year in 2023 (iPhone 15 series), it was made available across all models this time in 2024. Additionally, a camera capture button was also brought this year (iPhone 16 series).

A new Apple patent is now suggesting that the brand may bring more customization options to all its left side physical keys, enabling users to perform other functions too with these. In related news, it has been reported that the changes may also come on iPad and Mac devices as well.

Read more about the update below.

Apple Patent: Customization Options for Three Physical Buttons

As per the update, Apple’s newest patent is pointing out that the three physical buttons present on the left side on an iPhone device – the action button, volume up, and volume down keys, will be receiving the customization options to perform multiple other functions apart from their assigned function. This means that, users will be able to launch the camera application or turn on the flash by just using these physical keys at the left.

The patent description also reveals how the volume down key is used to call a common contact. As of now, only the action button is configurable.

Moreover, it has to be noted that physical buttons may start to arrive in iPads and MacBooks as indicated by some parts of the patent. It is still not sure whether we will see it in the future or not as the brand can always change it, but the details revealed via the patent confirms that Apple has actually considered it at some point and has blocked its competitors tactically from using it in their products.

For those who really like to see and use physical buttons on a device, this update would be really great news, but for most users who dislike physical buttons, this is bad news. Let’s just wait for more updates before we conclude its arrival.