Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

fumi2014

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 21, 2014
362
1,546
California
Hi there,

I didn't really know where to post this as it probably could have been posted in any of the portable device forums - iPad, Watch etc.

I'm really curious about buttons such as the side button on an iPhone, iPad and also on the Apple watch. When you press these buttons, you can physically feel them moving in momentarily but what causes them to revert back to their previous position?

I'm assuming it's some clever engineering but as I am studying engineering, I am looking to find out how that actual mechanism works.

Maybe someone on here can explain or point me in the direction of some further reading matter.

Kind Regards
 
  • Like
Reactions: ericwn

primarycolors

macrumors 6502
Oct 17, 2015
327
527
CA
^ Correct.

It's a dome switch — a switch made with a tiny dome of metal — that sits behind the button. When you push the button you're forcing the dome to cave in on itself and it makes electrical contact with another piece of metal (that's how the phone knows you're pushing the button). But the dome doesn't like being caved in on itself, so as soon as you remove pressure from the button it snaps back out.

It's a very common technology, and in maaaany more things than you probably even consider :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: fumi2014

MisterSavage

macrumors 601
Nov 10, 2018
4,841
5,739
I remember this really fascinating me: "Eventually, something had to change. In 2016, Apple released the iPhone 7, which replaced the home button with an unmoving, solid circle that wasn’t really a button at all. Thanks to a new haptic feedback engine, users could still “press” on the home button area and feel a fake click, but the “button” didn’t move. Deserved or not, the concern over iPhone button failure had reached the point where Apple had to design a wholly fake button around it."

 
  • Like
Reactions: fumi2014
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.