3D Touch was first introduced with the iPhone 6s. It brought a variety of shortcuts to iOS elements, and became a core part of the operating system. 3D Touching on things like links, notes, images, and other interactive elements performed three actions. First, the touch, which would open it. Then, the second level of pressure, “peek,” which allowed users to preview an item. Finally, “pop,” which opened it after peeking with a little extra force. Widgets appeared on the home screen with a forceful push on an app. You can clear notifications in a similar way. Finally, there’s my favorite part: you can easily move around in a text field using 3D Touch on your iPhone.
But that’s the problem, the software was only ever available on the iPhone. Apple never brought it to the iPad, the iPhone SE, or the iPod Touch. On the Mac, Force Touch is available, but rarely used, as right click and other modifiers applied to clicking have been available for decades. It’s also only useful on the latest MacBooks or for those who bought Apple’s latest (and ergonomically dangerous to use) Magic TouchPad. 3D Touch hasn’t spread throughout Apple’s ecosystem, and now it could end.
Why Would Apple Abandon 3D Touch?
Ming Chi-Kuo has predicted the end of 3D Touch, and he’s usually not wrong about Apple. He cites supply chains pointing to Apple abandoning the current screen design. Apple will be building the touch sensitive layer into the glass surface of the iPhone, rather than the display underneath it, as current touch screens do. This will make the touch screen stronger, less likely to break, and also reduce Apple’s costs. However, it’ll likely remove Apple’s ability to make 3D Touch inexpensively.
Kuo provided some hope for fans of 3D Touch though. He stated that there was a layer he was unfamiliar with that was planned for the next smartphone. However, he didn’t state that this would be any kind of layer capable of reading pressure. It likely isn’t, but it doesn’t hurt to hope.
Will 3D Touch Be Missed?
Do you use 3D Touch often? I mostly use it for text selection, but occasionally for saving attachments or photos. I can’t say I used it as frequently as Apple likely hoped, but there was one part I loved. While a long press can replace most of Apple’s other features, replacing 3D Touch on the keyboard for text selection will be tricky. Currently you can press, let up a little, then press hard again to select text without removing your finger from the screen. This is a feature I miss on every other device I use. Without it, Apple’s keyboard will be no better than any other. Apple’s removing something that makes them special, reducing the reasons for getting an iPhone over an Android device. With Apple abandoning products, refusing to listen to their users, and pushing out stale and buggy software, they’re not trimming the fat at this point, they’re amputating.
Source: Ed Hardy, CultOfMac