Force Touch on iPhone 6s to Make iPhone Interactions Faster With Focus on 'Shortcuts'

[kalsta]

A 3 dimensional UX. The only people being critical here are people who do not buy Apple products anyway so there's zero point in trying to convince them of the utility of it. …

These kind of comments never cease to amaze me. Sigh… First use of an Apple product in 1984 (Apple II). Regular Mac user since 1993. Family currently owns more Macs and iOS devices than I care to admit. And yes, I'm critical of Force Touch. Amazing technology; poor application. It feels like a solution looking for a problem.

I like that force touch is promoted by a company that for a long time thought right-clicking was too confusing for its customers.

Exactly!!!

 

[Keirasplace]

These kind of comments never cease to amaze me. Sigh… First use of an Apple product in 1984 (Apple II). Regular Mac user since 1993. Family currently owns more Macs and iOS devices than I care to admit. And yes, I'm critical of Force Touch. Amazing technology; poor application. It feels like a solution looking for a problem.



Exactly!!!

Man, force touch has other use than in the UI. Any musical instrument, or anything creative will be done better. You all have a massive failure of imagination. How on earth can it be a poor application when there are almost none done up to now! Shshh.

 

[Keirasplace]

This. Forcing a new OS versions on users every year is one thing. But adding, on top of it, a new principle of how you interact with your device could be (too) hard to muster for a lot of users in the real world (i.e. outside the MR zoo )

I hope FT can be disabled w/o crippling the phone beyond the capabilities currently offered by iOS 8.

Considering that 400M devices will not have force touch, I think that's a given.

 

[Keirasplace]

i don't mind convenience of bringing Force Touch to an OS, but lets make this universal across everything huh ?

Not just optionally allow developers if they wish to support it with these hardware devices... because not ever app or desktop app is force-touchable, how is that good ?

end result: u have to know which app is and which isn't, or will never be.

They have to introduce it in some way. In most apps in wouldn't make much sense so devs won't include it. But, in creative, musical, editing apps, it makes a lot of sense. If they bring haptic too, then it would make more sense in games.

 

[Keirasplace]

I don't know what is the difference between long press and force touch!
in android toggle notification , long press will jump to setting shortcut..
(same principle to force touch, once you press hard to notification center toggle it will jump to specific settings)

Pressing hard can be done in fraction of a second, not so with long touch (by definition), how on earth would you think they're the same. IOS has had long touch for a long long time too.

 

[kalsta]

People said the same thing about Touch ID. Some people (like me) couldn't imagine not having it now and some people disabled it. It's often hard to tell how great a feature is until you live with it for a while.

These 'people' can be conjured up at will to argue the Apple halo effect. Touch ID was great technology, implemented smartly, and many of us recognised that from the beginning. Unlock your phone by simply touching with your finger—so simple and predictable. The security and reliability has to prove itself, but conceptually, I always thought it a great idea.

Force Touch on the other hand (at least the way Apple is implementing it) seems like a flawed method of user interaction from the beginning. What's intuitive about pressing harder into the screen to achieve totally unrelated functions depending on the context and app you're in? In one context a map opens. In another, you're editing text. In another you're making a calendar appointment. This creates the question in the new user's mind, 'What is pressing hard going to do this time?' Then they have to file to memory what each action does in a given context. The action is relatively simple, but the entire process is not.

This isn't the only misstep by Apple when it comes to gestures. What about double-tap to slide down the screen, and obscure the bottom half? Seriously? Who uses that?? This wasn't good design either, but rather a way of excusing Apple's previous insistence that anything bigger than a 4 inch screen was too big to use with one hand.

 

[kalsta]

Man, force touch has other use than in the UI. Any musical instrument, or anything creative will be done better. You all have a massive failure of imagination. How on earth can it be a poor application when there are almost none done up to now! Shshh.

Sure. I'm not against the technology being used if there's a genuine benefit, such as in apps where variations in pressure sensitivity make perfect sense. (I'm thinking drawing/painting apps for one.)

I'm talking about poor application by Apple. This is from Apple's own support page regarding Force Touch on the Mac:

Here are some examples what you can do with a Force click:

• Look up: Force click text in a web page or Mail message and a popover appears, showing you Look up results for that text. Information appears from sources like Dictionary, Wikipedia, and more.
• Addresses: Force click an address to see a Maps preview of that location.
• Events: Force click dates and events to add them to Calendar.
• Link previews: Force click a link in Safari or Mail to see an inline preview of the web page.
• Tracking numbers: Force click a tracking number in Safari or Mail to see shipping details in a popover.
• File icons: Force click a file icon to see a Quick Look preview of the file's content.
• File names: Force click a file name in the Finder or on your desktop to edit the file name.
• Dock: Force click an app icon in the Dock to access App Exposé. This shows you all open windows for that app.
• Mail: When composing a message with an image or PDF attachment, Force click the attachment to activate Markup. This lets you annotate the attachment.
• Messages: Force click a conversation in the sidebar to see details and attachments, and Force click a buddy’s token in the chat header to see their contact card in a popover.
• Reminders: Force click a reminder to see more details.
• Calendar: Force click an event to see more details. Force click a meeting attendee to see their contact card in a popover.
• Map locations: Force click a location in a map to drop a pin there.
• iMovie: If your iMovie project has an animated Map or Globe, you can Force click the map in the Timeline to access a Style menu. This lets you choose different styles.
• GarageBand: You can use Force click in the following ways.
  • Force click a region to rename it
  • Force click a Note in the Piano Roll or Score to Delete Note
  • Force click an empty Software Instrument Track area to create an Empty MIDI Region
  • Force click an empty Drummer Track area to create a Drummer Region
  • Force click an empty Audio Track area to add an audio file
  • Force click an empty Piano Roll or on an empty Score area to create a New Note
  • Force click a Region with Track Automation to create Automation Points at Region borders
  • Force click a Region while dragging to zoom in on the timeline
  • Force click below the last Track Header to open a New Track Dialog

I don't know about you, but my eyes have glazed over by the third dot point. The thought of having to memorise all these time saving features is stress inducing! I think I'll stick to right-click on my Logitech mouse. At least the result (a contextual menu) is consistent and predictable.

 

[kalsta]

They have to introduce it in some way. In most apps in wouldn't make much sense so devs won't include it. …

Apple has a long history of trying to educate and influence app developers in how to create a great user experience. Remember the Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines? Part of that process is leading by example.

And then, one day, Apple released the abomination that was brushed metal into some of its apps, for no other reason than Steve Jobs liked it. And then they retrospectively tried to justify this by rewriting the Human Interface Guidelines. The result was a lot of confusion for developers over when to use it and when not to, and an OS that started looking like it had a split personality. But I digress!

Now Apple has introduced an amazing new hardware technology (seriously, I'm blown away by the new haptic trackpad on the recent MacBook Pros!) but it really seems like they didn't know exactly what to do with it. It seems like they have lost all sense of restraint in parcelling out various Force Touch features across OS X and Apple's own apps. It's like handing a credit card to a kid in a candy store, or handing unlimited CGI to a George Lucas in an editing suite. And my problem with this is (1) this does not seem like the Apple of yesteryear, that used to pride itself on restraint (i.e. what it left out for simplicity sake), and (2) it sets a horrendous precedent for app developers.

Okay, I'm done.

 

[Tycho24]

That was your single takeaway from his 300 word essay?

Lol, no... but it sure made it hard for me to read!!! =P

Reminded me of when on the Apple Watch forums a few people decided to refer to Android Wear as AW when everyone else had already decided that AW stood for Apple Watch.
Ugh.

 

[Elvergun]

These kind of comments never cease to amaze me. Sigh… First use of an Apple product in 1984 (Apple II). Regular Mac user since 1993. Family currently owns more Macs and iOS devices than I care to admit. And yes, I'm critical of Force Touch. Amazing technology; poor application. It feels like a solution looking for a problem.

Did Tim Cook give you a private preview of the new iPhones? If not, how did you get your hands on one of the new models? I mean, how else could you determine that it is an amazing technology, but that it poorly implemented?


Gotta love the haters.

 

[kalsta]

Did Tim Cook give you a private preview of the new iPhones? If not, how did you get your hands on one of the new models? I mean, how else could you determine that it is an amazing technology, but that it poorly implemented?


Gotta love the haters.

Before you label people 'haters' for sharing an opinion, you might want to start by reading some of the other comments. Force Touch already exists on the Mac and the Watch in case you hadn't noticed, and various commenters (not just me) have been discussing these implementations. That wasn't terribly clear from the one post you quoted, but I think it was pretty clear from my other comments.

 

[billy the fish]

Looks like something new for Samsung to copy.

Grow up..

 

[Brien]

Might be a worthwhile upgrade for me... especially if they bump up the RAM.

 

[iFanaddic]

To get a sense of what force touch is, imagine using a very very old touch screen. (Especially those who've worked on the old touchscreen cash register like they have in restaurants and fastfood places!) Remember how hard you had to press these? Well force touch feels just like that!

Haha I was trying to retrieve my tickets at the amusement park the other day and it felt as if I was using brand new tech! Hehe

 

[Keirasplace]

Before you label people 'haters' for sharing an opinion, you might want to start by reading some of the other comments. Force Touch already exists on the Mac and the Watch in case you hadn't noticed, and various commenters (not just me) have been discussing these implementations. That wasn't terribly clear from the one post you quoted, but I think it was pretty clear from my other comments.

Yet, despite that, most of the comments about its "uselessness" or a "regression" comes from people who either didn't use it (I can track all those posts if you like) or people who can't see a use beyond a narrow point of view (like your post). The kicker the whole Apple has changed leitmotiv...

It does have a use, many use in fact, for Apple's traditional old school base, the one that never abandoned it even in the mid 1990s, the creative crowd. That's another reason I don't get the disparaging comments about force touch at all; it's right in line with Apple's historic use of tech to enhance the core user experience.

 

[5232152]

So you think your financial sensibilities applies to everyone else? Hint, no it does not. Therefore, your guarantee only means that it applies to you.

Sure, if you are the type that buys stuff out of insanity and not logical thinking. Quite obvious that you should always be financially sceptical with anyone financial purchase that does not give your life steady out value. If you think 100 usd for a pressure sensitive surface is with, boy you are in a heap of trouble. Time to wake up mate.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I think the implementation of force touch could be pretty cool and I think it works quite well on something like the Apple watch as it has very little screen real estate so being able to reduce the amount of swipes is good. I also think it sound pretty good on the new mac book.

However I don't buy the fact that this is innovation. I've had my apple watch since launch day and I'm still not getting the difference between force touch and long pressing/pressing hard on Samsung Galaxy devices. Also whilst I think that the taptic feedback is brilliant on the apple watch, I again don't see the difference between that and what is present on Samsung Galaxy devices. The only difference is the implementation which is better on the apple watch Imo.

 

[Taz Mangus]

Sure, if you are the type that buys stuff out of insanity and not logical thinking. Quite obvious that you should always be financially sceptical with anyone financial purchase that does not give your life steady out value. If you think 100 usd for a pressure sensitive surface is with, boy you are in a heap of trouble. Time to wake up mate.

Nice that you are so concerned about peoples spending habits and their budgets.

 

[kalsta]

Yet, despite that, most of the comments about its "uselessness" or a "regression" comes from people who either didn't use it (I can track all those posts if you like) or people who can't see a use beyond a narrow point of view (like your post). The kicker the whole Apple has changed leitmotiv...

It does have a use, many use in fact, for Apple's traditional old school base, the one that never abandoned it even in the mid 1990s, the creative crowd. That's another reason I don't get the disparaging comments about force touch at all; it's right in line with Apple's historic use of tech to enhance the core user experience.

Right, well I'm one of that crowd you refer to, and I already addressed your comment about the potential usefulness of Force Touch, so why didn't you reply to that comment? In case you missed it, I said:

Sure. I'm not against the technology being used if there's a genuine benefit, such as in apps where variations in pressure sensitivity make perfect sense. (I'm thinking drawing/painting apps for one.)

But you insist that I 'can't see a use beyond a narrow point of view'. Seems like you just want to pick a fight.

As I thought I made clear, my problem isn't with the technology per se, or with its potential. My problem is how Apple has made use of it thus far, in what feels like a very undisciplined way—giving it a smattering of unpredictable results which vary depending on context. This sets a terrible precedent for developers in my opinion.

I think this is great shame, because the technology itself is brilliant.

Unfortunately, with some people on this forum, it gets their goat anytime anyone says anything negative about Apple. I'm not a 'hater'. Far from it. My history of comments on this forum probably has a similar amount of positive and negative comments about Apple technology and behaviour. I just call it as I see it.

 

[5232152]

Nice that you are so concerned about peoples spending habits and their budgets.

Insane people do not fathom sanity, do you?

 

[Taz Mangus]

Insane people do not fathom sanity, do you?

In my case, being a sane person, I do not fathom insanity. See what I did there.

 

[scapegoat81]

I have high hopes for force touch and think it great technology. But the examples given so far doesn't really add anything new. It's not supposed to replace a long press IMO and saying it's faster isn't good enough. Long press works and should not be replaced with FT a link to get options. That's just redundant.

I do like the FT on a home screen icon to get maybe a quick compose when FT the messages icon. That's something new and it keeps the long press to move icons function. Really hope apple has some imagination with this.

Edit: I'm beginning to like the idea more and more with using FT for system action like bringing up NC, CC, multitasking and slide over. Might seem a little boring but apps could start using the sides of the screen again and not have it interfere with apples UI.

Quick Compose ? Nice catch. I dig it

 

[scapegoat81]

It seemed the OP was talking about upgrading every year. Although I agree with your sentiment that one should worry about themselves and not others in this case, I will go out on a limb and say that upgrading every year is in fact a poor choice for just about anybody. Apple has done a great job of building almost a fever pitch around each release that seems to, IMHO, embroil many more people than simply those who genuinely need it to remain functional. But hey, I'm not passing judgement on anyone. It's their money to spend and if upgrading their phone, or video card, or CPU, or engine in their car on such a short term interval is their form of recreation, then knock yourselves out. I just don't buy that it is needed or that the benefits are as seriously felt as true believers make them out to be. YMMV.

I agree to an extent but this year will be the 1st that I'll be upgrading & trading in my device after a year & I'll tell you why.

I do not trust the build quality for longevity of this device. I've already had a screen replacement, & 2 device replacements in the first year & still have issues w/ my current device. A first ever for any of my family's iPhones. Hopefully all of the build issues are ironed out w/ this purported "6s"

 

[5232152]

In my case, being a sane person, I do not fathom insanity. See what I did there.

I can only conclude i doubt you need to worry about the 6s - regardless of the force touch feature and price point.

 

[Taz Mangus]

I can only conclude i doubt you need to worry about the 6s - regardless of the force touch feature and price point.

Really, why so? Oh, I see because you are making a bad assumption just as you have done in the other replies you have made in this thread. Thanks for playing though.