14 DAY TRIAL // After Apple had announced their new Retina HD displays with 3D Touch, most people thought that this would be the end of it and that the guys from Cupertino would only use the new feature for app interaction.
Despite this being quite probable, there are voices around the web that see the newly added 3D Touch capabilities as a sign of the physical Home button's demise in the iPhone 7.
Why is having iOS devices with no Home button all of a sudden a probability? Because, after the introduction of 3D Touch, users have a new way to navigate between apps and to go back from one app to the one opened previously (see the just added "Back to" button in iOS 9).
This makes the Home button we've all grown to love pretty much futile, apart from its obvious use as a Touch ID fingerprint harvesting and recognition device.
Removing the physical Home button from future iOS devices sound like a good idea on a device with a 3D Touch-enabled display
The next logic step for Apple is to get rid of the physical Home button altogether for multiple reasons. First of all, they would eliminate a mechanical assembly out of the device, simplifying it even further, and as we all know, Jonathan Ive, Apple's Chief Design Officer, is known for being a minimalism advocate.
Moreover, eliminating the physical Home button might pave the way for even larger screens that would make Apple's devices even more enticing for potential customers.
Another, advantage of having an on-screen Home button on future iOS devices such as the iPhone 7 would be the disappearance of a major number of support issues from users that have broken their iPhone's Home button because of pressing too hard or due to various mechanical defects.
And last, but not least, having a software button that can provide the user with haptic feedback when clicked might prove to be a better way of interacting with the Touch ID feature when compared to the current button that gives absolutely no feedback besides the on-screen hints.
All in all, completely removing the Home button remains something that Apple has yet to decide about (if it will ever come up), but on paper, it seems to be a good idea.
Do you think that you would miss the physical Home button? Does a software Home button capable of feedback via the 3D Touch feature make any sense? Leave us a comment below with your opinion in this subject.
