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3D Touch - your opinion, your usage and future of it
- Thread starter mich070
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I guess it's not the most essential feature, but I find it useful enough that it's (one of the things) making the choice between the 6S and the SE much harder for me.
I use it most for switching apps and trackpad, which I find much better than the magnifying glass method. I've never loved covering up the screen to scroll to something. I've gotten pretty good with the trackpad now.
I use it most for switching apps and trackpad, which I find much better than the magnifying glass method. I've never loved covering up the screen to scroll to something. I've gotten pretty good with the trackpad now.
I mostly use it in the Nintype keyboard. I have it customized for both long press and 3D/force touch. Having both is great because the long press is for text shortcuts, the 3D touch is for copying/pasting, markdown, numbers, and other things you otherwise have to switch to the other keyboard for. I've started using DuckDuckGo more and love it for the "Bang" feature that automatically takes you to Amazon or whatever and does a search there.
The home screen shortcuts are nice too. It's also nice to peek/pop drag up and delete, mostly in apps that otherwise make you press multiple things.
Chronicle shows previews of upcoming bills. You'd think email and calendar apps would do something similar.
The home screen shortcuts are nice too. It's also nice to peek/pop drag up and delete, mostly in apps that otherwise make you press multiple things.
Chronicle shows previews of upcoming bills. You'd think email and calendar apps would do something similar.
I like the feature, but it does seem like a gimmick right now. I would like to see how they improve it in the coming generations. For now, I'm testing an iPhone SE, and I don't miss it much. I only used it regularly for 3 apps on the home screen and the trackpad.
To be frank, I said the same about Touch ID when it debuted in the 5S. However, with third party app access, and Apple Pay, it has become more functional and less gimmicky. I'm hoping for the same future for 3D Touch.
To be frank, I said the same about Touch ID when it debuted in the 5S. However, with third party app access, and Apple Pay, it has become more functional and less gimmicky. I'm hoping for the same future for 3D Touch.
I never use it on my 6S, other than the first day playing with it. Why? Because it's not part of the normal UI yet. When I use other devices like iPad, Android, Windows, etc, there are no 3D Touch. Compare that to multi touch like pinch and zoom where it became "standard" part of touch UI.
Humans are creatures of habit. I don't see myself utilizing it unless it becomes the normal way of interacting with all touch UI.
Humans are creatures of habit. I don't see myself utilizing it unless it becomes the normal way of interacting with all touch UI.
Yeah - That's a huge part of the issue, I agree...
Which also sadly will continue for the foreseeable future with not including it on the SE and it still not existing on any of the iPads. It's really hard for developers to go all in on technology that isn't standard across the line.
Just imagine if only certain devices had "a camera" as an example.
I'm constantly using it for app switcher. Number one thing I use it for and actually missnitnwheb I pick up my android phone.
I also use it for hilighting text and dropping the cursor in a specific if it spot, though much more sparingly.
Recently discovered the target cartwheels app has a shortcut to the scanning tool which actually is rather convenient but it's the only useful shortcut I've found.
I think as apps go along shortcuts csn be made more powerful. Some apps currently shortcuts are static. Some are dynamic but I think kits there is no user editing. By this I mean it picks for you what you use the most but you can't just set it to whatever you want. If I had the option to select 3d touch an app and have my own custom shortcuts come up that would be a boon to the feature, at least for me.
All in all I love it far more than I thought it would. I was a skeptic. Now I'm almost to the point where I couldn't live without it despite there being room to improve.
I also use it for hilighting text and dropping the cursor in a specific if it spot, though much more sparingly.
Recently discovered the target cartwheels app has a shortcut to the scanning tool which actually is rather convenient but it's the only useful shortcut I've found.
I think as apps go along shortcuts csn be made more powerful. Some apps currently shortcuts are static. Some are dynamic but I think kits there is no user editing. By this I mean it picks for you what you use the most but you can't just set it to whatever you want. If I had the option to select 3d touch an app and have my own custom shortcuts come up that would be a boon to the feature, at least for me.
All in all I love it far more than I thought it would. I was a skeptic. Now I'm almost to the point where I couldn't live without it despite there being room to improve.
I never use it, it goes against the old iOS where nothing was hidden in the UI. Nothing required right click or menu keys like Android did. Also the right click menu is not consistent or predictable at all so it's slower than just using the app how it was originally intended. Finally even at the lightest setting you still have to press hard and I don't want to get carpal tunnel syndrome.
I use peek and pop in safari and I always use 3D Touch for Shazam. Otherwise I don't really use it all that often with other apps. I tend to forget.
I use the app switcher a little, but often it's quicker just to double tap the home button.
The keyboard trackpad cursor thing is good, but unreliable, so I rarely bother to try it anymore.
"Peek and Pop" is completely useless in Safari, Mail, etc...as it's quicker to just open the link/email/message as normal then choose "Back" once you've read it. I really don't understand why people use this. It's a decent function for photos though.
The app shortcuts are the most pointless out of everything. So unintuitive.
Overall, I think 3D touch has a lot of potential, it's just been poorly implemented.
My suggested improvements/features:
- App Shortcuts. Instead of having random things that only some people would use, how about have them be generated dynamically. E.G. In Safari, I would rather it show a list of say, the last 3-4 tabs I navigated to, plus a New Tab button, instead of things like Reading List that I never use. However, if Reading List is a frequently used function for other users, it should be intuitive enough to display it as a shortcut. Same goes for contacts, messages, settings, etc..
- App switcher. Instead of an awkward press that only works in a precise spot on one side of the phone, have a deep press anywhere on the screen (When not on the home screen) to toggle the app switcher. Or even a deep press combined with a gesture, like a deep press + swipe up like the iPad.
- Keyboard Cursor selector. First, make it work all the time. Not 1/6 times as it does currently. Secondly, adjust it so once activated, you can use two fingers to select text, or one finger to just move the cursor around.
- A deep press (or two) on selected text copies it to clipboard.
- A deep press on the battery toggle Low Power Mode (while on the home screen).
- A deep press on the cellular logo toggles Airplane Mode (while on the home screen).
- A deep press on a song in the music app, adds it to Up Next.
- A deep press on cover art toggle the artist view in the Music App.
There are so many ideas to make 3D Touch better/great, I could go on all day.
The keyboard trackpad cursor thing is good, but unreliable, so I rarely bother to try it anymore.
"Peek and Pop" is completely useless in Safari, Mail, etc...as it's quicker to just open the link/email/message as normal then choose "Back" once you've read it. I really don't understand why people use this. It's a decent function for photos though.
The app shortcuts are the most pointless out of everything. So unintuitive.
Overall, I think 3D touch has a lot of potential, it's just been poorly implemented.
My suggested improvements/features:
- App Shortcuts. Instead of having random things that only some people would use, how about have them be generated dynamically. E.G. In Safari, I would rather it show a list of say, the last 3-4 tabs I navigated to, plus a New Tab button, instead of things like Reading List that I never use. However, if Reading List is a frequently used function for other users, it should be intuitive enough to display it as a shortcut. Same goes for contacts, messages, settings, etc..
- App switcher. Instead of an awkward press that only works in a precise spot on one side of the phone, have a deep press anywhere on the screen (When not on the home screen) to toggle the app switcher. Or even a deep press combined with a gesture, like a deep press + swipe up like the iPad.
- Keyboard Cursor selector. First, make it work all the time. Not 1/6 times as it does currently. Secondly, adjust it so once activated, you can use two fingers to select text, or one finger to just move the cursor around.
- A deep press (or two) on selected text copies it to clipboard.
- A deep press on the battery toggle Low Power Mode (while on the home screen).
- A deep press on the cellular logo toggles Airplane Mode (while on the home screen).
- A deep press on a song in the music app, adds it to Up Next.
- A deep press on cover art toggle the artist view in the Music App.
There are so many ideas to make 3D Touch better/great, I could go on all day.
I like it, and I use it when I remember it's there. I've been an iOS use since the original iPhone, though, and it's sometimes hard to teach an old dog new tricks...
For me personally its just another in a long line of gimmicks apple implements to entice people to update. its just like siri I used that a few times but now find it useless for the most part, same with facetime, used it a few times when it first came out but very little since. Touch ID I think is the only feature that was truly ground breaking for me, it was annoying to keep typing in that passcode to unlock your phone every time. So I think 3D touch will go down as another useless gimmick that a small number of people will use consistently.
Use it a lot mainly for quick access from app icons to jump straight to things and take out multiple steps. Also used it for peek and pop etc as well now and then. Do find it very handy but like a lot of things Apple puts in phones it needs app developers to take it on board and start using it for it to really take off.
Regular 3D touch shortcuts on few apps I use frequently
Not to mention Task manager, safari/mail peeks & flick actions, keyboard trackpad (once you know the trick that the cursor needs to blink for it to work), Call logs 3d touch actions.
I believe its definitely a user's choice to use it or not. But if you try to use it a bit, at least in regularly used apps .. it helps a lot. And if you really get accustomed, you will feel its very much necessary. Still I have hopes that 3D touch will become much better in the long run and do feel that apple should have included it into the iPhone SE too, so that it becomes more common like the touchid is currently.
Dropbox (last opened file),
Scanner Pro (immediately scan)
Phone (call favs)
Amazon (Scan a product)
Few more ..
Inapp usages likeScanner Pro (immediately scan)
Phone (call favs)
Amazon (Scan a product)
Few more ..
Whatsapp peek (not to let a friend know I read the message)
Asphalt (Pressure sensitive steering is much better)
Asphalt (Pressure sensitive steering is much better)
Not to mention Task manager, safari/mail peeks & flick actions, keyboard trackpad (once you know the trick that the cursor needs to blink for it to work), Call logs 3d touch actions.
I believe its definitely a user's choice to use it or not. But if you try to use it a bit, at least in regularly used apps .. it helps a lot. And if you really get accustomed, you will feel its very much necessary. Still I have hopes that 3D touch will become much better in the long run and do feel that apple should have included it into the iPhone SE too, so that it becomes more common like the touchid is currently.
I use it frequently to move the cursor around (love that feature) and a fair bit to view live photos (although apparently that works in the SE with a long press). I rarely use the peek and pop feature and the quick actions seem useful, but I usually forget about them. Honestly the only thing I would miss on a phone without it is moving the cursor around. I live without it on my iPad which I use as much or more than my iPhone. I think it will probably become more useful when more Apple products incorporate it at which point app developers will have more incentive to add 3D Touch functionality to their apps.
Therefore there is much less incentive for devs to do anything but add a few things as an after thought.[/QUOTE]
I really agree with you guys in a lot of points.
I really do believe that 3D touch has a big potential, however I think that the idea was maybe not really overthought and currently apps are not really being developed for this (because there is at the moment only one generation where it works).
I do not own a Macbook with Force Touch so I cannot really speak from experience regarding the use of this feature.
However, I am sure that they should change the usage/functionality of this feature. Being able to perform a 3D Touch by quick viewing with a little window without entering an app would be great (quick check weather status, message, calender preview, quick photo, etc.). I was never using jailbreak before, but from the videos I saw I think that it would be great to enhance this feature such as:
Honestly, I was excited about it when reading about it and whatnot. But after leaving it on for a week or so, I discovered it was absolutely useless to me and shut it off. Found nothing special about it that helped me through every day tasks
That is actually sth that I am facing at the moment since I bought my iPhone6s one week ago. Nevertheless I was really interested to see and gather information about your experience. We will see what the next iPhone brings with it or other new features, or the developers maybe will use some tweaks and implement them