iPhones need to be as thin and sleek as possible, so those home buttons will eventually have to go.
Apple is developing new chips for the iPhone that will allow it to eliminate the physical home button and shift its functions to the touch screen, according to a Monday report.
Such a move would be in line with late founder Steve Jobs’ obsession with making Apple’s product designs as thin, lightweight and simple as possible.
The new chips “would fit into future iPhone designs — models with ultra-thin and ultra-narrow displays, and with a whole-plane design eliminating the home button,” the report said.
Subsequent reports on Monday pegged the earliest launch date for a home-button-less iPhone at 2017.
By eliminating the home button, Apple in theory could expand the iPhone’s screen to cover the entire face of the device. This could enable larger displays or, alternatively, smaller iPhones.
Likewise, the report said Apple’s new iPhone chips will “come with integrated fingerprint sensors,” hinting at an iPhone that could recognize the owner’s fingerprints no matter how it’s being held.
The report, from Taiwan-based DigiTimes, which cited industry sources, wasn’t confirmed. The trade publication has a spotty record when it comes to predicting Apple’s product cycle.
Still, it was enough to spur a 5 percent tumble in shares of Synaptics, a fingerprint-recognition software firm that had been courting Apple.
“The likely expansion of its in-house design business will have a significant impact on the global semiconductor industry landscape,” the report added, citing unnamed sources.