Is Force Touch dead already?

[McFreggle]

Hey

I have pointed this out in the thread about the hardware-free WWDC already, but I thought it was worth mentioning it here in this forum as a separate topic:

Has anyone noticed that there was no Force Touch whatsoever in the watchOS 3 WWDC demo? They replaced nearly all Force Touch actions by swipe and push actions.

It seems to me they find that Force Touch is confusing on the watch. And if they remove Force Touch on Apple Watch 2, it probably gives them room to add other, most wanted, features...

What do you guys think? Is Force Touch on the watch dead already? Will the Apple Watch 2 be thinner and Force Touch-less?

I kinda like Force Touch on my watch, but I wouldn't miss it too badly if it wasn't there.
Same goes for 3D touch on my iPhone.

 

[Newtons Apple]

I only use it to move the cursor when I remember it can do that, so if it did die, it would not ruin my iPhone experience.

 

[exxxviii]

I never use FT on my iPhone, and I only use it where I know I must on the AW (like changing a face or ending a workout). It is the mouse equivalent of a right-click. But, it is less efficient than a mouse action, and it is not widely or consistently employed by apps.

 

[nrvna76]

I'm confused.. The only spot they removed the need for force touch was changing faces right?

 

[McFreggle]

I'm confused.. The only spot they removed the need for force touch was changing faces right?

No it isn't. Changing faces is the most obvious one, but for example to stop a workout, you need to Force Touch on watchOS 2. On watchOS 3, you need to swipe.
And in all new functionality they showed off, not a single force touch gesture was included.

 

[oddysea992]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have just added to the options; i.e to change watch faces in watch OS 3 you can now force touch or swipe. If the user finds force touch more natural they can still do it that way, but for others whom think more in swipes (think everyone without a 6s or 6s+) they can perform the same action that way.

 

[lagwagon]

I'm confused.. The only spot they removed the need for force touch was changing faces right?

It's not removed from there. You can still Force Touch to change faces and/or get to the Customize faces option(directly from the watch)

Watch app on the iPhone can now also customize the watch faces in the new Face Gallery tab.

 

[Defender2010]

No. It works almost everywhere it worked before. I am using watchOS 3 so I know.

 

[BarracksSi]

Will the Apple Watch 2 be thinner and Force Touch-less?

Force Touch works via a thin pressure strip underneath the border of the display glass. It's like a glass-adhesive-FT sensor-case sandwich around the edge. Removing it won't make the AW appreciably thinner.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Apple+Watch+Force+Touch+Sensor+Replacement/41084#s94843

Keep in mind that the initial activation of FT isn't dependent on where you press on the screen -- it only knows whether you pressed on the screen at all.

 

[BlueMoon63]

I can see reasons for force touch being more useful now... I will actually start text messages from the watch and force touch to start a new text or to add items to reminders/things using scribble - wherever scribble can be used. I use force touch all the time to switch to bluetooth headphones, etc. Of course, customize the watch face, etc. I love using this on my iphone for sure...