Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
My money is on price point - the additional cost of 3D Touch added to an already-expensive display would be a non-starter. Though the "iPad Pro must have OS X" crowd will deny the iPad Pro is a Surface Pro competitor, I trust even they would admit that if the iPad came in at a substantially higher price than a comparably-equipped Surface Pro, it would not be a good thing.

So, yeah, it's conceivable we will see 3D Touch on the next iPad Pro model - costs will have come down, as they always do on maturing technology.

Was I horribly disappointed by 3D Touch's absence on this model? No, I'm too "glass half full" for that. I like what it does have, a lot. It'll be a great replacement for my first generation iPad.

I do have an Apple Watch, and while Force Touch is nice, it's not so nice that I'd put off replacing my iPad for yet another year.
 
I wonder if there is a lot of added technical complexity to doing 3D touch along with the tech required for the pencil to be accurate enough to be worth it. If they currently can't do both, that might have been a big reason to leave it off. The other might be weight. We know from the iPhone teardowns that the added weight on the 6s and 6s Plus are all in the display and if the added weight scales by the size of the device it might have made the current 3D touch tech impractical for a screen that big.

I'd expect we will see a merger of all this tech in 2016 with the all devices in the Apple lineup getting the refresh rate variability for battery savings, 3D touch, and pencil support.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Capt T
You don't need 3D touch gimmick on a Pro device.
It most definitely is NOT a gimmick feature. And that feature is more "pro" than anything. It makes your workflow so much better. After only having the 6S for a weekend so far, I hate how my iPad Air 2 doesn't have 3D Touch. It drives me insane in fact.
 
I've also been using my 6s for the weekend (picked up on Saturday night) and while 3D Touch is nice, I don't see it as an essential feature. It's pretty non-discoverable -- you don't know if something has it until you push and try.

Even if the iPad Pro doesn't have it, it's not going to stop me from buying one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kal-037
On an iphone like touchid and 3d touch is more natural and easy to use, you need the speed of those features, on the ipad neh, its nice to have secure touchid ipad but not that feel of natural
 
Isn't the most logical reason for them excluding 3D Touch from the Pro due to weight constraints? The iPhone 6S Plus added almost 12% more weight to the iPhone 6 Plus. Assuming it would've added 12% weight to the iPad Pro, it would've weighed 1.76lbs. :eek:
Personally I'm happy they left it out until they can make the technology lighter.
 
I was able to use the new iPhone w/ 3D Touch at the Apple Store, and it felt very slick. The pop effect that you feel with the haptic engine was subtle but felt just right. I don't know how that would translate well on such a huge device as the iPad since you don't hold it the same way you would a phone.

And in its current iteration, 3D Touch is mainly used as a shortcut to common actions you would perform in an app. This seems a lot more useful on a mobile phone than it would on a large tablet, so I'm not too bummed that it isn't included yet on the iPad.
 
I can totally see Apple crunching the numbers on the iPad Pro's sales and canning it by year 3.

Once users realize it's just a gigantic iPad with no extra functionality it will have to be revamped or go the way of the dodo.
 
I can totally see Apple crunching the numbers on the iPad Pro's sales and canning it by year 3.

Once users realize it's just a gigantic iPad with no extra functionality it will have to be revamped or go the way of the dodo.
Isn't that what was said about the original iPad when it came out? That it was just a big iPhone...
 
X2.
Nothing is going to touch the Pro. So there's no use of bitching about what it doesn't have. What other tablet is even a alternative because there's nothing even miles close to what the Pro will be able to do in the tablet world. I am thoroughly convinced that if Apple offered up the perfect tablet there would always be those that feel a need to complain about any and everything.


Agreed, and not only that, so it's a 1st gen, and so what? it's a hell of a lot more advanced and found on proven Apple tablet technology than say the first ipad1 was. This will be a super awesome tablet because of this. It will, infact, be the best tablet they currently produce.

it isnt 3d touch. again, it's subjective. i personally couldnt care, considering the Pencil will effectively soon complete the Force Touch roll no doubt as apps progress.

if you immediately doubt it and ignore it because of this '1st gen' stigma then more fool you. That attitude is less and less these days i fear as tech becomes more common place and high grade. This isnt pioneering in the same way as the first ipads/touches were, but if you wait for the 'best' it can get you'll never get there.

personally, as a professional artist and not a casual user, i cant wait. as a fanboy/tech geek, well yes, you might be disappointed, but then, aren't you always?
 
Apple has done this for years, introduce a feature into one product line and have it slowly seep into the others. This makes sense for a lot of reasons, the first is that it helps sell the new product, makes you look forward to future versions of other products, and also lets them focus on a limited rollout of that feature before pushing it to all the other product lines.

The thing is, no one is forcing you to buy the version of the product that doesn't have the feature you want. If 3D Touch is THAT important to you, and you must have it on all devices going forward, then don't buy an iPad Pro or any currently available iPad. Wait until Apple announces the next version, but don't be mad if the next version doesn't have 3D Touch either, because maybe that interface only makes sense on smaller screens due to the increase in weight.

Also, keep in mind that just because products are being designed simultaneously does not mean that they are going to end up in the same place technologically. You could just as easily make a thread saying "Why no Apple Pencil for the 6s Plus? It's practically a mini tablet!" Well, Apple has plans for the iPhone that differ from the iPad. They're not just sized up and down versions of the other type of product. We don't know how long the Pro has been in development. People think that designing a product is just a matter of checking off boxes. Each thing you include has a positive element (the feature it provides) and a negative element (adds to the weight, draws more power, etc. etc.). The iPad Pro has a TON of tech in it that no other Apple device has. Complaining that it doesn't have ONE new feature that by the way requires its own special hardware is missing the big picture.

I also suspect that the Pencil will allow for many of the same types of features that 3D Touch is used for on the iPhone.
 
I just noticed something...iPads don't have Taptic engines or vibration functions. For 3D Touch, you need haptic feedback for it to work properly. Could a haptic engine be built into an iPad and would it work well enough? I think the largest surface for the haptic engines right now would be the iPhone 6S Plus but the problem with it is that it is too subtle when it is vibrating.
 
Personally I think 3D touch is "meh" I don't even use it for anything. I'm glad it isn't on the iPad Pro or Mini 4. I mostly like the better specs and faster touch ID on the iPhone 6s. 3D touch is still a silly gimmick to me, I think live photos is cooler.


Kal.
 
I just noticed something...iPads don't have Taptic engines or vibration functions. For 3D Touch, you need haptic feedback for it to work properly. Could a haptic engine be built into an iPad and would it work well enough? I think the largest surface for the haptic engines right now would be the iPhone 6S Plus but the problem with it is that it is too subtle when it is vibrating.

You don't NEED a taptic engine or any vibration to make 3D Touch work. The "taptic engine" is just Apple's way of refining the vibration systems by using a linear actuator. The feedback you're getting from the taptic engine is part of the overall experience, but wholly non-essential to the functioning of 3D Touch.

The actual tech required for 3D Touch is about the sensors that can read the pressure you're putting on the screen. The taptic engine has nothing to do with this. However, Apple smartly realized that since this pressure wasn't visible to the naked eye, they needed the vibrator to give tactile feedback. The standard motor in previous iPhones was too broad, it made the whole phone shake. So they went with the linear actuator which greatly improves the feel of the vibration. This was especially important for the Apple Watch, which needed to conserve space and energy and I suspect Apple didn't want the kind of product where your whole wrist started vibrating when you got a notification.

I do think if Apple wanted to make the 3D Touch experience consistent across all their products, they'd either need a much larger taptic engine or multiple small taptic engines placed in key areas around the iPad.
 
a lot of functions that 3d touch provides doesn't make sense on a tablet it seems. "peek"? there's no need to peek when you have a list of mail on the left and the full body of the selected email on the right.

seems like 3d touch is meant to solve a real estate problem. but of course some apps would benefit from the pressure sensitive screen.
 
The most important questions in my mind are.....can the apple pencil be used as an input device? Can I select a spreadsheet cell with it and write in a number? Can I select an icon with it? Can I use its built in pressure sensor for context? Is it more than a drawing tool?
 
  • Like
Reactions: iMacmatician
I just got a 6s plus and 3D Touch is not a big deal. I am pretty fast at navigating through apps and thinking about the process of 3D Touch slows me down in many cases. There are some good things like mouse and peeking at things but the icon shortcuts don't help me one bit.

3D Touch more suited for smaller screens and phones where people are busy in the go and need to get to things quicker. Were larger screen has more real estate for buttons and menu items and one may not be in such a rush to message or email someone with a quick press.

Also doesn't anyone think that implementing 3D touch on a much larger iPad pro could be difficult from an engineering perspective?
 
The most important questions in my mind are.....can the apple pencil be used as an input device? Can I select a spreadsheet cell with it and write in a number? Can I select an icon with it? Can I use its built in pressure sensor for context? Is it more than a drawing tool?
That would be wholly up to the app programmer to add that functionality in. No reason it can't.
 
No 3D Touch , No usb type C , and only 2 storage options. With only one capable of LTE. I will wait until next year to sale my MacBook Air for a iPad pro. I'm not a professional designer or writer. I'm in logistics and was looking to purchase this device mostly for media consumption. I was hoping the iPad pro would be on the same level as a my Surface Pro 3. Maybe next year.
 
No 3D Touch , No usb type C , and only 2 storage options. With only one capable of LTE. I will wait until next year to sale my MacBook Air for a iPad pro. I'm not a professional designer or writer. I'm in logistics and was looking to purchase this device mostly for media consumption. I was hoping the iPad pro would be on the same level as a my Surface Pro 3. Maybe next year.
If you're looking for a tablet "mostly for media consumption", how does the iPad Pro fall short? Also, if by "on the same level as the SP3" you mean run desktop apps... it's safe to say that it won't happen next year... probably won't happen ever.
 
If you're looking for a tablet "mostly for media consumption", how does the iPad Pro fall short? Also, if by "on the same level as the SP3" you mean run desktop apps... it's safe to say that it won't happen next year... probably won't happen ever.
With my Surface Pro 3. I can can add storage via USB or Micro SD card. Increasing my 128gb of storage. The keyboard of the Surface and kickstand feature looks more comfortable when lying in bed or placing on lap. I was thinking that the iPad Pro would come with 3D Touch and USB C. For me to justify the price and have longevity in my household.
 
Last edited:
For me it's better to wait until next year to get more features added in the next cycle. Next year if the iPad Pro 2 comes out with 3D Touch , more storage with LTE options and a better keyboard case. I would sale it for the new iPP 2 and get half of what I paid this year. I'm happy it's available but it would have to be a impulse buy for me to get it now.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.