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. Well the story behind the silent switch actually goes back to the iPod. It had an nearly identical switch that turned orange when activated, just like on iPhone. Except it was used for hold mode. A feature that deactivated the iPod’s buttons to prevent unintended presses while in a pocket or bag. Apple carried this hardware switch over to the iPhone although the touchscreen device didn’t need a hold mode. Since the new ‘swipe to unlock’ action already prevented accidental inputs. Instead, Apple used the switch for silent mode. Which was actually quite unusual at the time. Typically, cellphones could be placed on mute by holding the volume down button until the device vibrated. Confirming silent mode was activate. But Apple recognized the confusion this could cause on a more advanced smartphone. Turning down the volume would not only silence the ringer and notification sounds, but also prevent sound from being played while watching Youtube videos or playing a song. Requiring users to continuously adjust their volume back and forth. A more convenient solution was adding a silent switch that would mute all sounds while the device was asleep, but allowing audio to pass through while the device was being used for other tasks. And while Android has a similar solution, their silent button is software-based, located in a drop down menu. This could be problematic in certain situations like in a movie theater, during a meeting, or in bed. Since you’d have to wake the display and interact with the device. Something that could be seen as rude, inconvenient, or at the very least uncomfortable. So by adding a physical switch, iPhone users can turn on silent mode by simply reaching into their pocket. Or confirm silent mode is already on by glancing at the switch and ensuring the orange line is visible. All of which prevents you from waking up the device which could be disruptive.