Apple's plan to replace all mechanical buttons on the 20th anniversary iPhone with haptic solid-state buttons is becoming more concrete. According to a new report from China, the buttons have already passed key practical tests – even with wet hands, gloves, or a case. One detail is particularly surprising.
The 2027 iPhone anniversary has been shaping up for months as Apple's most ambitious hardware project of the generation. At its heart is a device designed to appear as a single block of glass – without a visible frame, cutouts, or mechanical controls. A key component of this design is solid-state buttons, which Apple had already targeted for the anniversary model in October 2025. Now, Chinese leaker Instant Digital has provided an update: the technology has passed several stress tests – an indication that Apple may have finally achieved its goal on the third attempt.
What the tests specifically show
According to the leaker, the solid-state buttons have successfully passed several durability tests. They function with gloves, with wet hands, in extreme temperatures, and even when the iPhone is in a case. This is significant because these very scenarios were previously considered unresolved problems that cost Apple two earlier attempts – once with the iPhone 15 Pro as part of "Project Bongo," and once with the iPhone 16 Pro. Both plans were ultimately abandoned in later stages of development.
The most interesting detail, however, doesn't concern robustness, but rather the power supply. According to the report, Apple uses an extremely low-power microprocessor that keeps the buttons functional even when the iPhone is switched off or the battery is empty. This would be a feature previously associated more with emergency call or NFC functions – not with normal operating buttons.
Why this is different now than in 2023
Solid-state buttons are nothing new in the Apple world. Even with the iPhone 15 Pro, there were plans to replace the volume and power buttons with haptic-responsive surfaces. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in April 2023 that the project was halted at the last minute – officially due to technical difficulties. The same plan, and the same halt, followed for the iPhone 16 Pro.
With the anniversary model, however, the technology makes compelling strategic sense for the first time. If Apple wants to build an iPhone whose display curves around all four edges of the casing and looks like a single, continuous sheet of glass, then mechanical buttons are no longer a detail – they represent a fundamental departure from the design concept. Solid-state solutions thus become a requirement, not an option. This very pressure likely explains why Apple is now apparently entering the final validation phase after two previous attempts failed.
Side Button, Action Button and Camera Control affected
Specifically, all four physical controls are to be converted to solid-state technology: the power button, volume buttons, action button, and camera control. This is noteworthy because Apple only recently introduced a new operating concept with the camera control button on the iPhone 16, based on highly precise capacitive sensors. Moving to fully haptically controlled buttons would be the logical next step in this development.
The key difference from traditional controls: Solid-state buttons don't click mechanically, but simulate the feel of pressure through a short, precise vibration – similar to the trackpad on newer MacBook models. Anyone familiar with the feel of a current MacBook Pro will have a rough idea of what the iPhone 2027 might feel like.
What rumors surround this generation
The report on the solid-state buttons is the latest in a series of clues gradually shaping the outline of the anniversary iPhone. Our complete overview of the 20th-anniversary iPhone reveals what has been gathered so far: a dual-layer OLED display, front and selfie cameras under the display, a 2-nanometer A21 chip, and a design goal that Apple has envisioned as an unspoken ideal for years. The solid-state buttons represent the final piece of the puzzle in creating a truly bezel-less iPhone.
Apple's third solid-state attempt is getting closer
Whether the tests the leaker mentions actually represent final validation cannot yet be definitively determined. Apple's development discipline has repeatedly demonstrated in recent years that even highly advanced features can be halted shortly before market launch. There is therefore still plenty of time for corrections until September 2027. However, the strategic logic speaks more clearly in favor of solid-state buttons than ever before – and thus also in favor of an iPhone that, by its 20th anniversary, will indeed no longer have a physical clickable button. (Image: Shutterstock / Hadrian)
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