I think it was Grubers review, which said that he wasn't impressed with the taptic engine, and then realized that he had a faulty unit and it was much better when they replaced it. My tap the engine feels very weak. When I go into the iPhone settings and put it on the lowest setting I can't even feel it. Is anyone else having this experience? Can you feel anything on the lowest setting? Is the highest setting strong for you?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Concern regarding taptic engine
- Thread starter TRICKorDEVICE
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Hmm...I don't think Gruber said he had it replaced. I think he said he changed the settings so it wasn't on the lowest setting.
I fail to see why people are having a tough time with this. I recall even Jony Ive describing the taptic output as "gentle" or "delicate" in one of the videos.
The taptic module seems to be a linear motor, meaning it moves in a single plane (or possibly 2).
If that plane (or planes) of movement is parallel to your arm it is going to be hard to feel (and it seems to be parallel in the teardown). Skin isn't as good at side-to-side sensing as it is to pressure(in-out) sensing.
Sure the strap pulls on that plane of movement creating a little motion in the Z axis at the extremes, but it is not going to be strong even if the X and Y motion is fairly strong. Unless, of course, the motion has a frequency and mass to cause more movement overall (resonance). That movement still not going to transfer to your skin efficiently unless the band is "secure" (i.e. tight).
Apple could improve coupling/tuning that resonance to an arm by allowing the user to vary the frequency and make it a little more effective on a per-user basis (over just amplitude now). I'm betting Apple's first response will be "you're wearing it wrong" and tell you to tighten your band. The best solution for Ver 1 would be to include options to make the motion feel more "unnatural" either by varied pulses and/or frequency.
Personally I would trade off the taptic for a bigger battery and the classic, yet very tiny, "rotary" style motor. But Apple doesn't live by form following function.
The taptic module seems to be a linear motor, meaning it moves in a single plane (or possibly 2).
If that plane (or planes) of movement is parallel to your arm it is going to be hard to feel (and it seems to be parallel in the teardown). Skin isn't as good at side-to-side sensing as it is to pressure(in-out) sensing.
Sure the strap pulls on that plane of movement creating a little motion in the Z axis at the extremes, but it is not going to be strong even if the X and Y motion is fairly strong. Unless, of course, the motion has a frequency and mass to cause more movement overall (resonance). That movement still not going to transfer to your skin efficiently unless the band is "secure" (i.e. tight).
Apple could improve coupling/tuning that resonance to an arm by allowing the user to vary the frequency and make it a little more effective on a per-user basis (over just amplitude now). I'm betting Apple's first response will be "you're wearing it wrong" and tell you to tighten your band. The best solution for Ver 1 would be to include options to make the motion feel more "unnatural" either by varied pulses and/or frequency.
Personally I would trade off the taptic for a bigger battery and the classic, yet very tiny, "rotary" style motor. But Apple doesn't live by form following function.
Last edited:
Perhaps I am wrong, but isn't the goal of the tapic engine to nudge you of a notification? Without this, would you just rely on sound from the watch?
I guess I should rephrase that...
I would trade taptic for the classic "rotary" style motor to make room for a larger battery.
Thanks for the reply. It makes me feel a bit better. I'll probably go and feel it at the Apple store this weekend to get another frame of reference. I'll report back with results.
I've long been used to the BUZZ of my Pebble, so my initial reaction to the tactic engine was that it was weak. I've found over the past few hours that I've acclimated to it quickly. I also turned on prominent haptics in settings, which makes it tap you a bit more to be sure to get your attention.