Almost a decade ago when the iPhone was first introduced by Apple, the company’s co-founder Steve Jobs highlighted the groundbreaking design of the device, especially its home button, which allowed mobile users to easily navigate through the many features of the smartphone. At that time back in 2007, having a home button on a smartphone was considered an innovative idea, especially when you consider that popular devices at the time (such as those made by Nokia and BlackBerry) required pushing lots of keys and buttons in order to exit out of anything. But with the iPhone, mobile users can just push the round home button to get back instantly to the home screen. Quite unique at that time, iPhone’s home button contributed immensely in setting Apple’s smartphone apart from much of the competition.
However with Apple’s new iPhone 6s, which officially hits store shelves everywhere on Friday together with the bigger iPhone 6s Plus, the home button’s day may be numbered. A few of the new features incorporated in the iPhone 6s, such as pressure sensitive touch screen capabilities and a more enhanced and expanded Siri (iOS’ personal digital assistant), may be signs that Apple is seeing diminished significance for the physical home button built in its iPhone devices.
But assuming Apple does want to eventually get rid of the iPhone’s home button, what would be the benefits of doing so? Obviously, future iPhones would likely have more generous display screen sizes. As cool as the home button is, you can not deny the fact that it does take up considerable space in the bottom part of the iPhone’s front side. If Apple takes decides to take it out, it can extend the iPhone’s display screen further down. And in this day and age, many are prone to think that the bigger the smartphone’s display screen is, the cooler the device is. Also, the company has always had a fondness for minimal design aesthetics -- removing the home button would make future iPhones sport an even more neat, clean look.
Of course, much of all of this is just speculation. And besides, home buttons are still pretty standard for any smartphone design, or at least those used by the dominant phone makers of the world. As a matter of fact, South Korean mobile giant Samsung enjoys a lot recognition value out of its distinctive home button design.
But this is Apple we are talking about. The company has always been more comfortable trying out new cool things instead of just settling for what is currently popular. And with today’s mobile users increasingly becoming more adventurous in exploring never before seen stuff on smartphones, even one as mighty as Apple needs to always pique consumers’ interest. But is getting rid of the iPhone’s home button the answer?
