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Apple's 'Force Touch' Trackpad Fools Users Into Feeling Clicks Without Actually Moving

mailboxbetacoin said:
sounds great when reading the article or Apple's PR material; the only problem is that in reality, it doesn't feel like a click at all. it does provide an interesting vibration type feel, which is better than no feedback at all, but in no way comparable or as satisfying as a click.
Click to expand...

Just tried it on the new 13" MBP. It feels exactly like a click, and in no way vibrates. The only way I could confirm it was indeed a new model was to look in preferences at the trackpad settings.

Incidentally, you can still use tap to click as well as having force click active.
 
tiguk said:
Just tried it on the new 13" MBP. It feels exactly like a click, and in no way vibrates. The only way I could confirm it was indeed a new model was to look in preferences at the trackpad settings.

Incidentally, you can still use tap to click as well as having force click active.
Click to expand...

Where you sure that the force touch was enabled in the trackpad settings under system preferences? I am not sure if it is enabled by default,
 
iOSedgar said:
Still waiting on touchscreen for the MacBook
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In addition to the annoyance of moving your hands from the horizontal plane to the vertical to use a touchscreen, I think the ultra light Macbook would constantly be tipping over when you pressed on the screen. Tablets avoid this problem by using cases with an inclined support behind the screen, but notebooks are not configured this way.

Also, a touch screen is going to cost you something: weight, thickness, price, battery life.....something. Instead, Apple focused on keyboard and trackpad innovation. Arguably, the keyboard and trackpad are the primary interface for a notebook.....so, I think Apple focused on the right thing when making this trade-off. Design is all about making trade-offs.
 
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bdkennedy1 said:
I would like to know why. Did it save space? Apple talks about how amazing it is but they never said what the benefit of this design is. It seems like overkill for something that was so simple.
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I think it both saves space and allows them to make the track pad larger and with no moving parts. Most importantly I think it gives them many test subjects so that they can implement this on their touch screen devices to take iOS to the next level.
 
bdkennedy1 said:
I would like to know why. Did it save space? Apple talks about how amazing it is but they never said what the benefit of this design is. It seems like overkill for something that was so simple.
Click to expand...

Previous touchpads were hinged at the top. The force required for a click and the displacement of the trackpad surface differed from top to bottom. Not it's consistent. Apple described this during their event.
 
Got to try it yesterday. Genuinely feels like your clicking down on the track pad. You can also change the setting from a single click down to a double click down (force click).
 
marc55 said:
My only question is: What is the life span of the electromagnet?
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Assuming this is a serious question... Electromagnets are among the most reliable electrical devices in existence, and one of the oldest (dating back to 1824). Typically, they far outlast the switch contacts, motor bearings, and batteries with which they're associated - I'd wager a fair percentage of the 1830s-vintage telegraph equipment in museums would work if you applied a power source.

The biggest cause of failure in these things comes from running excessive current through the coil (melting insulation and/or copper wire) - a problem that you can encounter in a car's alternator/generator if the voltage regulator fails, or when you operate a loudspeaker at ear bleed levels. In applications like this, excessive current (and the heat that comes with it) isn't a significant factor.
 
paulvee said:
I wonder how it will work for click-and-drag? I'm constantly manipulating little sliders for different parameters in photo and video editing software. Now, I click the trackpad - I get the tactile click - with my thumb and then I drag the slider with finger.
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I'm curious about this too. I use that method for everything from moving windows to selecting text to moving sliders. Maybe the majority are using 3 finger drag (?), but I got used to this method and prefer it. I don't see any reason that it couldn't work with force touch as long as there's also a "release" feedback vibration in addition to the "click."
 
Atomic Walrus said:
I'm curious about this too. I use that method for everything from moving windows to selecting text to moving sliders. Maybe the majority are using 3 finger drag (?), but I got used to this method and prefer it. I don't see any reason that it couldn't work with force touch as long as there's also a "release" feedback vibration in addition to the "click."
Click to expand...

I imagine it would work similar to now, but using force as the determining factor.

on a lot of touchpads (can't remember if Apple's does this too, will test tonight), a single press and hold will count as a method to initiate click and drag. Some devices also do a modified double tap, where you keep contact on the 2nd tap and drag.

I never use the button action of the Apple touchpad. I find it works so much faster and more eficiently if you just do everything via gesture control than worrying about enough force to actually click the button
 
It is...

yannxou said:
But does the Trackpad detect a range of pressure levels or it just distinguishes between soft/hard touches?

I'd be happy to read somewhere that this is true pressure sensitive and that it can be used by other applications.

I want a pressure sensitive magic trackpad!
Click to expand...

Yes. According to the March 9th event, the trackpad is touch sensitivity with different pressure levels. One of the examples was using it to sign you name and how different levels of pen pressure are applied.
 
tiguk said:
Just tried it on the new 13" MBP. It feels exactly like a click, and in no way vibrates. The only way I could confirm it was indeed a new model was to look in preferences at the trackpad settings.

Incidentally, you can still use tap to click as well as having force click active.
Click to expand...

<sigh> you 're free to like it as much or even prefer it over a regular click; but to say that it feels exactly the same is being dishonest.

I know lots of people who don't care whether that thing clicks or not, and you might be one of them, but please don't misinform those who might care about this thing; it certainly does not feel like a click.
 
Got to try it today at my local Apple Store and I'm honestly astonished. They had a new rMBP next to the older non retinat MBP with the traditional trackpad. I got to use them simultaneously.

They were honestly indistinguishable from each other. I had to actually test it specially to make sure I wasn't using an old rMBP by clicking the corner of the pad. On the new one, it felt like a click anywhere while on the old one I couldn't click on the corners.

I think they nailed it with the click feel.
 
This sounds really cool. I really don't like the diving-board trackpad and the whole thing feels extremely rigid and cheap, and it would make so much sense to be able to drag and drop with one finger, but if you happen to do that at the top of the trackpad, you have to press super hard, and it's impossible at the very top, which makes no sense. Though I'm sure Apple could have figured this out by simply changing the trackpad's current mechanism to work more like the keyboard's space bar, in that it goes up and down the same amount no matter where you press.

I think the haptic feedback is finally the thing that gives your sense of touch something to feel in a world where everything is totally solid state and feels "dead".
 
mailboxbetacoin said:
<sigh> you 're free to like it as much or even prefer it over a regular click; but to say that it feels exactly the same is being dishonest.

I know lots of people who don't care whether that thing clicks or not, and you might be one of them, but please don't misinform those who might care about this thing; it certainly does not feel like a click.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree with you more. I had the opportunity to test them side by side and they felt absolutely identical. So much so that I had to make sure I wasn't using an old trackpad.

They even nailed the single click hold feel, making two distinct click feels (one down, one release).
 
Proprioceptive Illusion

The phenomena is called a proprioceptive illusion, an error in perceiving the world through our proprioception system. Proprioceptive illusions seem pretty rare compared to optical or auditory illusions. The Disappearing Hand Trick won the 2012 Illusion of the Year award:


There are also science papers about vibrations causing a perceived error in the geometry of our bodies. One abstract is here. The paper is behind a paywall, but anyone affiliated with a University should be able to freely download the paper. The paper notes that 100Hz vibrations cause the particular proprioceptive illusion.
 
djbuu said:
I couldn't disagree with you more. I had the opportunity to test them side by side and they felt absolutely identical. So much so that I had to make sure I wasn't using an old trackpad.

They even nailed the single click hold feel, making two distinct click feels (one down, one release).
Click to expand...

well, that's not my experience at all.
what about that keyboard, you could not see the difference either? I haven't heard of anybody that likes that keyboard yet
 
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