Why iPhones Have A Silent Switch

Apple has a reputation of leaving out features and buttons on iPhone that are deemed unnecessary. The original model left out a physical keyboard which was an industry standard at the time, and since then, they’ve removed its headphone jack, and even its home button. But one thing iPhone still has is its silent switch. Something many people don’t use, especially those switching from Android, where silent mode is activated with a software button instead.

[SanderEvers]

I actually use the silence switch on my iPhone a lot. And I love that it's a physical switch.

[JS-gvsm]

I think the silent switch is one of the useful features/hardware of an iPhone...

[opedromagico]

I love the feeling of switching it on and off.

[jyothissjrkz]

The silent switch is a real life saver in some situations

[aidan]

It’s kinda useful in my opinion. I have silenced my phone in my pocket before when it would’ve been inappropriate to take it out like you mentioned

[GabbieCh]

Another useful part of it is that anyone can put your phone on silent. If someone leaves their phone in a room and it starts ringing, it can disrupt the atmosphere for other people. It's cool that using this switch, they can put it on silent without waiting for the owner to come and unlock it. I've used it in such situations.

[أحمدح_الجمالي]

Well this aged like milk. R.I.P mute switch 2007-2023

[danishyusof]

The silent switch is very convenient ! Because you can always mute your phone if you forgot without needing to pull your phone out.

[DanielQwerty]

The silent switch is so useful, and it’s also kinda apart of the iPhones legacy. I hope they never remove it

[kryptousog]

Honestly I wish more phones had a physical mute switch, it’s such a nice feature to have.

[alvinsim]

I literally use that button everyday 😂 I'm so glad they actually made this thing it's super convenient!

[prateekpanwar]

This should be standard as safety feature. In situation like night/school/meeting, If you open your screen then it'll instantly reveal your're using phone due to backlight.

[jonathanjoseph]

As a student, you've got no idea how many times it has saved me. I just reach into my pocket, flick the switch and when I feel a vibration, know that I've avoided chaos. If I don't feel a vibration, I pat myself on my back and flick it back to silent. helps with my anxiety, lol

[lekronss]

That's actually very smart. I hope this doesn't end up on the list of things Apple removes :)

[DanielMoroni]

Back in the day the iPad’s had switches too. It evolved over time. But my favourite was you had the option to use it for silent mode or rotation lock. On the iPad I found that the rotation was something I needed to interact with so frequently that the switch on the side made it so I didn’t even have to think about it. Later they made it so that it was a silent only feature and now there isn’t a switch to be found. All in the name of water proofing and minimalism? I miss it.

[mrdummymail]

My OnePlus has a similar button, but it is a slider switch. Let me tell you, there have been many situations when i have reached out to my pocket in class and confirmed the phone was in silent mode, without even turning it on. So, i can see it being pretty useful for iOS folks.

[joshuaunderwood]

Also, when you click it back and forth it’s very satisfying. A wonderful fidget.
The animation when you turn it off and on also provide a cute little bell ringing and crossing out. Very nice.

[ShaneTS]

I use this switch all the time. When I'm working with my headphones on I always switch it to ring because I usually am too focused on the screen than what's on my desk. And like you said, for movies, I always just feel through my pocket to make sure the switch is set to silent mode

[MojeZycieWSkrocie]

It's been almost a whole year since I switched that button to be permanently on silent mode and I love it ( I still only had a couple of notifications turned on before). The funny thing is that it had become so convenient for me that when I switched it off maybe once or twice the alerts were so unbearably annoying I had to switch it back on. Now it even annoys me when I'm around people and their phones go off, especially when they don't silence them off immediately which happens quite often at work.

[cjmendoza]

This is one of the best features on iPhone…a personal favorite of mine