Almost a week after the Apple faithful collectively gasped at the first evidence that the iPhone's “end call” button might soon be shifting upward and a column to the right, it looks like the whole thing might have been a false alarm
ByDAVID HAMILTON AP Business Writer
FILE - The line-up of the Apple iPhone 13 is displayed on their first day of sale, in New York, Friday, Sept. 24, 2021. The location of Apple’s red “end” button is set to slightly move with upcoming iOS 17 updates to the phone app. As iPhone users know, the “end” button currently sits prominently away from other call options, in a center position towards the bottom of the screen. But with iOS 17, which officially launches this fall 2023, the red icon will move the right — and other features will move down to join it. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Almost a week after the Apple faithful collectively gasped at the first evidence that the iPhone’s red “end call” button might soon be vacating its center position to take up residence one column to the right, it looks like it might have been mostly a false alarm.
The initial shock followed the release of last week's test, or beta, version of iOS 17, the next major update of the iPhone’s operating software. That's where users first saw the end-call button, which has traditionally lived in splendid isolation centered well below function buttons such as “mute,” “keypad” and “speaker,” instead joining its peers and taking a more assimilated position in the lower right-hand corner of a six-button block.
Now, though, images of the latest iOS 17 beta shared by multiple media sites shows the red button right back in the center of the phone dialpad, pretty close to where it’s long staked out its territory. But it's still not alone; now it's in the second row, center seat of that six button block, where it appears to be daring you to try hanging up without also opening the keypad or accidentally adding another participant to your call.
To be fair, it's always difficult to draw firm conclusions from beta software releases, which are intended both to help engineers hunt down bugs and to gauge user reaction to changes large and small. So they're a bit experimental by nature, and some experiments fare better than others.
But we don't have much choice but to speculate whether the end-call button's wanderings have come to an end. Apple typically doesn't comment on its design process — or much of anything else — and did not reply to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
