iPhone 16 Marks the Death of This Iconic iPhone Feature
Sep. 11, 2024The Iconic Mute Switch on iPhones
The Ring/Mute switch has been on the iPhone dating all the way back to 2007 when the very first, OG iPhone was announced by Steve Jobs. The Mute switch has always remained the same, allowing you to toggle between silent and ringing. It has been a classic part of the iPhone’s design until we saw the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro models.
Honestly speaking, the mute switch was super-useful and damn convenient. You just have to push it down to put your iPhone on Silent Mode and move it up to enable Ringing mode. Once done, you never have to check your iPhone to know if it’s on mute or ringer. The position of the mute switch was enough to tell you. If you have been using an iPhone for quite a long time, I’m sure you would have developed muscle memory for its position. Sadly, that convenience is now gone with the Action Button. You might completely forget that your iPhone is in silent mode.
The ring/silent switch wasn’t anything revolutionary, but a necessity. It lets you quickly and easily put your iPhone on silent or vibrate so you don’t blow up an important team discussion. Also, since the Mute switch was a physical button, it guaranteed that it would not make my iPhone peep unless I was playing some music or watching videos. I know when I had silenced my iPhone. No mistakes!
While Apple has closed a door, it’s opening a window. The new programmable Action Button lets you perform a wide range of tasks. By default, the Action Button works as a silent/ringer switch. You have to press the button to toggle between silent and ringer options. Also, you cancustomize the Action Buttonto quickly access the camera, accessibility features, voice recorder, turn flashlight on/off,and more. Also, you canmake the Action Button more usefulby assigning multiple functions.
While the Action button offers additional functionality, it kills the simplicity and convenience of the Mute switch. It changes the way you can toggle between ringer and silent options. Honestly, I haven’t even seen people doing as much with their Action Button as Apple expected. I don’t find it super useful because the Action Button has a limited approach.
It is tied to a single action and can be triggered only with a long press. As the Action Button arrives on the vanilla models this year, I was expecting Apple to make it more versatile, so it can respond to double taps, long presses, and more. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. So, when a new addition doesn’t bring much to the table, it’s not an upgrade. Rather, it’s only a change, which I personally don’t like.
Compared to the Action Button, I find the newCamera Control buttonpretty useful because it offers several dedicated camera functions. Unlike the Action Button, the Camera Control button responds to swipes and tap gestures, making it much more versatile.
Coming back to the Mute Switch vs Action Button, I think there’s no debate about it. Some people may miss the simplicity of the mute switch, whereas others might welcome the added functionality of the Action Button. I’ll surely miss the convenience and assurance the Mute Switch offers. Also, that ‘tick’ sound of the Mute Switch is utterly satisfying.
Goodbye iPhone Mute Switch, you’ll be dearly missed!
