Samsung might remove all the physical buttons, i.e., the power key and volume rocker, from future flagship phones. This change will supposedly happen a few years from now, so you need not worry about the upcoming Galaxy S23 series lacking these basic features.
The rumor, which admittedly sounds outlandish, claims that the power and volume keys' functions will be fulfilled entirely by software. Exactly how this new buttonless system would work is unclear, but the source claims it won't go live next year for the Galaxy S23 or the Galaxy Z Fold / Flip 5 lineups. (via @OreXDA)
The Galaxy S25 might be the first phone to drop physical buttons
The rumor gets even more ambitious, as it suggests that the Galaxy S25 might be the first Samsung phone to abandon physical buttons. Of course, judging by Samsung's usual launch schedule, the Galaxy S25 is more than two years away from its eventual debut, and it seems a bit too early to predict the fate of the series a few years down the line.
Nevertheless, according to these tweets, it is possible for the buttonless Galaxy S25 to be an exclusive device for KT Corporation, which is the second-largest wireless carrier in South Korea. In other words, the global Galaxy S25 variant might still have physical buttons, but for whatever reasons, the KT-exclusive variant could have a different design and new software features to make up for the lack of physical buttons.
Needless to say, take this rumor with a big proverbial pinch of salt and don't make any plans based on these claims yet. Not to mention, this isn't the first time we've heard about this alleged design change. The Galaxy Note 10 was rumored to ditch physical keys a few years ago, and various other Samsung patents describing buttonless designs have existed for years now. With that in mind, the physical keys may or may never go away. But assuming there is even a grain of truth to this wild rumor, how do you think Samsung would make this change happen, and perhaps more importantly, why? Feel free to share your theories below.
