iPhone 7: Has Apple killed off the home button?

iPhone 7: Has Apple killed off the home button?

The iPhone 7 may lose one of its regular features, according to a new leak. A grainy image said to be of Apple's next handset suggests that the traditional home button has been replaced by a touch-sensitive pad.

The photo, which has emerged via Mobipicker, shows the front of the device missing the circular metal ring seen on the current generation. In its place is a control which sits flush with the case.

The pictures should be taken with a grain of salt, continues the site, which goes on to spell out how such a change would affect the way the iPhone is used and why Apple may eventually remove the feature.

A physical button is a part susceptible to breaking, says Mobipicker, and given that new iPhones now have a fingerprint scanner embedded into the button, replacing it can be costly. With a new pad, users would have to tap, swipe and hold to carry out actions, rather than pressing down on a part of the phone.

9to5Mac adds that a touch-sensitive button would probably integrate Apple's 3D Touch capabilities, too, to allow it to distinguish between light and soft touches.

Dropping the physical button would also pave the way to make the iPhone waterproof, something already boasted by key rivals such as the Samsung Galaxy S7.

However, it's strongly rumoured that this year's iPhone won't represent a major design overhaul compared to the Phone 6 generation and that Apple is waiting until 2017 to unleash a heavily revised device, marking ten years since the iPhone's introduction.

Rumours stretching back as far as October suggest that the physical button's days are numbered, as Cult of Mac points out, although word has been quiet on this front for some time.

Mashable says that alleged photographs of the iPhone 7 up to now have only shown the back of the handset. The lack of images of the front means a home button change this September isn't "completely implausible".

However, Phone Arena thinks it has comprehensively de-bunked the leaked image – the site has unearthed an Android-powered phone strongly resembling the handset pictured in Mobipicker's scoop.