[robocat]

The haptic home button does not work when wearing gloves on iPhone SE 2022 (I just tested it).

With haptic side buttons, a 3rd party case couldn’t use plastic over the buttons (my iPhone SE 2022 case has molded button covers as part of the plastic surround).

Aside: Apple’s usability feels like it is going downhill. As a very recent Android -> iPhone convert, I keep bumping into obvious and serious usability flaws, even with my years of prior experience with an iPad. Watching my 80 year old mum trying to learn how to use an iPad was a real eye opener for usability and accessibility failures (weirdly enough, she used to use a Windows laptop a few years ago with less problems, probably due to familiarity).

I’m guessing Apple can make a haptic button that is more reliable and more waterproof than a physically clicky button. We all know of old iPhones with a physical home button where the home button stopped working reliable (or at all). Preventing failure in objects that physically move is very difficult.

[crazygringo]

But a trackpad button and the AirPods click do work with gloves.

Surely Apple will implement volume buttons that respond to pressure, like those do, rather than capacitance, like the iPhone home button.

And so a 3rd party case that covers the buttons would still work just fine.