Apple is expected to announce Force Touch as a new feature for their new handsets at Wednesday’s media event. While the feature is based on the same technology used in the latest MacBook trackpads and the Apple Watch, it is expected to be a next-generation version of the tech.
While the MacBook trackpads and Apple Watch act on two levels of pressure, the differentiation between a tap and a press, the new iPhones will actually differentiate and unique act upon three levels of pressure: a tap, a press, and a deeper press, according to sources. The 3D Touch name is therefore derived from the new Force Touch sensor’s ability to sense three dimensions of pressure, rather than just two. This opens up the door to new user-interface tricks, such as shortcut gestures across the iPhone 6s version of iOS 9.
9to5Mac shared a few examples of how the new technology will be used on the new iPhones:
- New to the Force Touch experience, a user can look up a point of interest in the Maps application, and then Force Touch on the destination to immediately begin turn-by-turn directions. Currently, if a user wants to start navigating to a destination, she must search for the point of interest, click the navigation logo on the map view, then click another button to actually start navigating. In this case, the Force Touch gesture will skip two steps.
- In the Music application, a user can Force Touch on a listed track to be presented with some of the most commonly used actions. For instance, if a user deep presses on the listing for a song, a menu will appear to quickly add the song to a playlist or save it for offline listening. This Force Touch gesture would act as a substitute for clicking the actions button on the right side of each track listing in the Music app.
- Another feature in testing, according to one source, are shortcuts that appear after Force Touching an app icon on the Home screen. For example, if a user deep presses on the Phone app icon, he could choose to shortcut directly to the Voicemail tab. This could also apply to deep pressing the News app icon and being taken directly to either the Favorites or For You tabs.
The new feature is also likely to make the feature list of the much-rumored “iPad Pro,” which is also expected to boast a stylus that will take advantage of the improved force touch technology. The 12.9-inch tablet is expected to also debut at Wednesday’s event.
