Which iPhone model was the first to eliminate the home button?

The iPhone X was the first iPhone model to eliminate the home button.

Released on November 3, 2017, the iPhone X replaced the familiar circular home button with a nearly edge-to-edge OLED display. Navigation moved to gestures: swiping up returned to the Home Screen, while swiping and holding opened the app switcher.

Removing the button also ended Apple’s use of a front-mounted Touch ID sensor on its flagship line. The iPhone X introduced Face ID, which used an infrared camera system and other sensors in the TrueDepth camera module to recognize the user’s face.

The change was not completely permanent across every iPhone. The second- and third-generation iPhone SE later retained the classic home-button design. The iPhone X also marked Apple’s tenth-anniversary iPhone, explaining the Roman-numeral name and the decision to skip an “iPhone 9.”