It’s not exactly news that the iPhone’s home button is the first one to give out. In fact, the home button has gone through so many redesigns, always looking new and working a different way almost every time a new iPhone comes out. This is perfectly normal (and even expected), knowing that the home button is pressed repeatedly throughout the day. It’s the most exposed to regular wear and tear, and no matter how durable the material used or the design is, it’s bound to stop working soon the more frequently you use it.
This is why it probably comes as no surprise that Apple also continuously offers different options for people whose home buttons have suddenly stopped working. In the iPhone 7 though, they offer a unique solution that caught everyone by surprise. We asked experts that sell iPhones how it works, and even we were somewhat amazed by how far Apple has truly gone in terms of offering instant solutions when something goes astray.
The Hidden Home Button
Yes, the iPhone 7 comes with another home button that remains hidden until it detects something wrong with the physical home button. Basically, the system immediately warns you the moment your home button becomes faulty, with a system warning saying “Home button may need service”. It also comes with a notification saying that you may use an “onscreen home button” in the meantime.
You might be thinking, “Wait, that’s not new”. Yup, the virtual home button has been around for years, even in the much older iPhone units. However, this virtual home button would have to be activated, which means having to go into the iOS settings and manually turning it on. This is a huge problem if you can’t unlock your screen because of a busted home button in the first place.
This is the dilemma that Apple got rid of with the iPhone 7. Now, there’s no need for you to hunt for the settings that activate the virtual button. Because iPhone 7 is designed to be as intuitive as possible, it automatically activates the virtual home button for you the moment it senses a problem with the physical button.
The Home Button’s Possible Future
Because of the amazingly intuitive nature of the new iPhone 7, people have begun speculating on what the home button’s future will be like. The newest home button is not exactly a button, but more of a sensor that recognizes fingerprints. It also relies on the amount of pressure given to it to figure out what the user wants to do.
From here, experts believe that the virtual home button is a sneak peek of what the future home button will be like. Since today’s home button is not really a button you need to press, the future could show us a virtual button found straight on the glass.
At the moment though, the virtual home button does not come with fingerprint recognition yet. But seeing how Apple has found a way for iPhone to diagnose problems with their own home buttons, this missing feature isn’t exactly impossible. In fact, it could be the next feature we’ll be looking forward to in the next generation iPhones.
