According to the latest information released by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the next-generation iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will no longer have solid-state buttons due to “unresolved technical issues before mass production.” Kuo said the iPhone 15 Pro models will be equipped with solid-state buttons in early October. He said two additional Taptic Engines inside the iPhone will provide haptic feedback to simulate the feeling of pressing buttons without physically moving them, similar to the Home button on the iPhone 7 or the Force Touch trackpad on newer MacBooks. But he said in a Medium post today that devices will still have physical buttons.

“My recent survey shows that due to pending technical issues ahead of mass production, both high-end iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro and Pro Max) will abandon the closely-followed solid-state button design and revert to the traditional physical button design,” Kuo said. It’s unclear whether the “traditional” design means two volume buttons or whether Apple will use a single long volume button as has been said before.

Kuo said that Apple still has time to change the design of the iPhone 15 Pro, as the device remains in the EVT development stage. He believes the changes will have a “limited impact” on the mass production and delivery schedule of the Pro models. The return was also reported by technical analysts Jeff Pu and Shelley Chow of Hong Kong investment firm Haitong International Securities.

“Based on our supply chain controls, we expect the iPhone 15 Pro series to revert to the current physical button design due to a more complex design,” Pu and Chow wrote in a research note received by MacRumors today.. Analysts believe that the design of solid-state buttons has been delayed until the launch of the iPhone 16 series in 2024.

Kuo said the news was “negative” for Cirrus Logic and AAC Technologies, two key suppliers of Taptic Engine-related components for the iPhone.