Apple iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus could feature mute switches and dedicated Action Buttons

According to new reports, Apple is working towards bringing the Action Button to more iPhones, starting next year. Debuting almost two months ago on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, the Action Button was rumoured to be Apple's first attempt at mass-producing a solid-state and pressure-sensitive button. Manufacturing issues were said to forced Apple to return to a conventional button, though, which took over from the previously ubiquitous mute switch.

Supposedly, Apple is looking to bring the Action Button to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. However, its implementation may resemble Sony's Xperia smartphones rather than the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Writing on Weibo, leaker Instant Digital claims that standard iPhone 16 models will receive a dedicated Action Button on their lower right edge, a mockup of which from MacRumors we have embedded below.

Currently, the new button is being developed under the codename Project Nova. MacRumors adds that the button is also referred within Apple as the 'Capture Button', presumably because its location makes it an obvious candidate to be used as a dedicated camera shutter button. Purportedly, Apple will relocate its mmWave antennas to accommodate the change, although Instant Leaker has not clarified whether the new button will make its way to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, too. 

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