Could Apple remove the silent switch in the iPhone 5?

 

Chances are, if you’re reading this post-like me; you’re excited about the upcoming release of iOS 6, which is due sometime in fall.

At Apple’s WWDC 2012, we saw an extensive list of amazing-looking additions and features to iOS 6. The most notable of which are additions such as: Full Facebook integration, Offline Reading List, Cellular FaceTime, and Do Not Disturb.

This post is concentrating on the “Do Not Disturb” (DND) function. DND is just the silent switch with more functionality; allowing you to set specific times for when it can and can’t silence alerts and notifications, for times like during work or when you’re sleeping. You can even set it to only silence certain calls and alerts.

It’s no secret that Apple aren’t a fan of physical buttons and switches, there are only four sets on the phone and these are only there as it would be unpractical to trade them for touch buttons.

There are a gut-full of rumours floating around the net based on the upcoming iPhone 5, and I’m about to add to the list. This is all based on speculation with no physical evidence pointing towards the possibility.

Could it be that Apple is planning on removing the silent switch on the side of the iPhone? From a software point of view, there’s no longer a need for this switch, it’s built straight into the OS and does more than the old and out-dated switch can do. This switch is just taking up room that they could use for much more useful features. Bigger screen, improved antenna? I for one want to keep the silent switch, it’s simple and makes it easier to simply flick your iPhone to silent in your pocket instead of going through the unlocking the phone, opening the settings app, and then turning it to silent. Or could it simply be that Apple just wants to add to the silent functionality by giving us more power over what exactly you can do.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments. I’d really like to hear your views on this.