UPDATED 04:55 EDT / SEPTEMBER 10 2015

NEWS

Apple’s new 3D Touch vs. Force Touch vs. Multi-Touch: What is it and how does it work?

What is 3D Touch and how is it different from Multi-Touch on current iPhones and Force Touch on Apple Watch and MacBook?

What is Multi-Touch?

Multi-Touch brought us gestures and ways to interact with iPhone like tapping, swiping, pinching and stretching. Originally introduced on the iPhone by Apple, Multi-Touch has become the de facto way in which we interact with touchscreen devices such as smartphones and tablets.

What is Force Touch?

Introduced on the Apple Watch, Force Touch senses the amount of pressure exerted on the display and responds accordingly. Electrodes around the display differentiate between taps and harder presses and perform a specific action or provide contextually specific controls based on the force of the contact – for example, clearing all notifications from Apple Watch with a single press.

What is 3D Touch?

To hear Jony Ive, Apple’s Chief Design Officer tell it, 3D Touch is the “next generation” of Multi-Touch and adds force recognition to already familiar gestures. 3D Touch also enables two new gestures, ‘peek’ and ‘pop.’ 3D Touch is also a more refined name for Force Touch. But, there are subtle differences in how the two technologies work.

How does 3D Touch work?

3D Touch works on the Home Screen of an iPhone and gives users access to functions they use and access most. For example, a hard press on the camera icon gives users quick access to the iPhone’s FaceTime camera.

A light press on an app icon gives a user a ‘peek’ or preview while a harder press launches the app or ‘pops’ the user into the content.

3D Touch also works in all native Apple apps and some third-party apps, like Dropbox, Facebook, and Instagram, with more expected to follow.

3D Touch in native Apple apps

In Mail, for instance, a user can press on an email and get a ‘peek’ or preview of a message without actually opening the mail. Simply lift your finger and you are back in your Inbox.

In Messages, threads containing time and date information lets you peek at your Calendar with a light press or pop into the Calendar app with a harder press.

A light press on an address lets you peek at the location in Maps or press harder to pop into Maps. Speaking of Maps, 3D Touch lets you drop a pin or press on a location for more information.

3D Touch also lets you multitask with ease. Press on the edge of the screen to navigate between apps and press and swipe to go back to the previous app. 3D Touch also lets you archive or delete messages with a press and swipe.

3D Touch in third-party iOS apps

As for third-party apps, Dropbox allows users to view recent docs or upload photos with a hard press, Facebook lets you go directly to the status update or photo upload screen with a hard press and Instagram lets you go directly to a new Instagram or preview profile images and video.

Even mobile gaming benefits from 3D Touch with games like ‘Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade’ taking advantage of the functionality.

The tech behind 3D Touch

As for the underlying technology that makes 3D Touch possible, capacitive sensors integrated into the backlight of the iPhone’s Retina HD display measure “microscopic changes” in finger pressure between the glass and the backlight.

As with Force Touch, 3D Touch provides haptic feedback. In the iPhone 6s, haptic feedback is improved and provides more distinct feedback events, according to Apple. This allows for precise feedback so that you always know what to expect from your press on the iPhone screen.

See 3D Touch in action in the video below:

Screenshot via Apple.com

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