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What about the 3D touch?

Kulfon

Kulfon

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 4, 2013
924
1,414
Hi all,
I am wondering if you are using the 3D touch feature on your iPhones. I remember when Apple predented the functionality during the iPhone event last fall, I was intersted in it. I got a new iPhone in November and never ever used it. I tried it, but I do not find it intuitive and I am not using it.
Is anybody using it?
 
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3-D touch was a nice idea in theory but I don't really use it all that much in my every day life. To be honest I can just as easily click on the app icon and get into the app and do what I need to do rather than use 3-D touch outside the app which seems like an extra step that I don't need. The only time I use 3-D touch is when I'm playing games that actually utilize it. Until it becomes more useful to me, odds are I probably won't use it. It doesn't save time that I notice, but then again how quickly do I need to get to an app? However I will say while peek and pop is pretty cool, I sometimes forget that it's there.
 
Kulfon said:
Hi all,
I am wondering if you are using the 3D touch feature on your iPhones. I remember when Apple predented the functionality during the iPhone event last fall, I was intersted in it. I got a new iPhone in November and never ever used it. I tried it, but I do not find it intuitive and I am not using it.
Is anybody using it?
Click to expand...
Use it several times every day. From activating short cuts from home screen icons to peeking in website links. I use it to quickly message friends from telegram, search for apps from the App Store app, and get directions home from the maps app.

Sometimes, I find myself activating force touch on my home screen simply because the "pop" sensation is so addictive, like bursting bubble wrap.
 
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It feels like it has either been refined in software since initial release and/or I'm becoming a lot more used to it because it feels much easier to trigger intentionally and much more natural. This is one of those things that in the long run is going to be a big deal, as it gives entirely new layers of UI functionality. But in the short-run it's going to feel like it doesn't offer much to most people.
 
It is really strange for me to use it, not intuitive. I do not feel I am missing anything when I do not use it, I never remember it is there. What surprised me is how Apple advertised it - they invested many years and a ton of money to create it.
 
The best thing it is for is for quickly switching between apps. Hard pressing the left edge of the screen and swiping right to jump right into the previous open app is a lot faster than physically double tapping the home button and then tapping the app.
 
Once I got over the newness of 3D Touch, I've found myself never using it. There's nothing you can do with it that's makes anything quicker.

- It's quicker to hit the home button to do multitasking.
- The 3D Touch press on app icons is currently pointless. Shortcuts to sections of the app that are usually the default to open anyway, or one press away when the app is open.
- The Keyboard 3D Touch has been so unreliable that I've subconsciously stopped using it. It's still quicker to use the horrible on screen cursors selector than to attempt a 3D Touch cursor selector then delete all the characters that were inserted into your text during the attempts.
- Safari/Email - it's quicker to open the page then hit back, instead of using "peek and pop"
 
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yep-sure said:
Once I got over the newness of 3D Touch, I've found myself never using it. There's nothing you can do with it that's makes anything quicker.

- It's quicker to hit the home button to do multitasking.
- The 3D Touch press on app icons is currently pointless. Shortcuts to sections of the app that are usually the default to open anyway, or one press away when the app is open.
- The Keyboard 3D Touch has been so unreliable that I've subconsciously stopped using it. It's still quicker to use the horrible on screen cursors selector than to attempt a 3D Touch cursor selector then delete all the characters that were inserted into your text during the attempts.
- Safari/Email - it's quicker to open the page then hit back, instead of using "peek and pop"
Click to expand...
I'm curious, why is it quicker to use the home button for multitasking when going to a previous app then switching with a single 3D Touch swipe? Seems like the user in a preceding post described it the other way around. Or quicker to open a page and then to go back to the app rather than just use peek and pop?
 
yep-sure said:
Once I got over the newness of 3D Touch, I've found myself never using it. There's nothing you can do with it that's makes anything quicker.

- It's quicker to hit the home button to do multitasking.
- The 3D Touch press on app icons is currently pointless. Shortcuts to sections of the app that are usually the default to open anyway, or one press away when the app is open.
- The Keyboard 3D Touch has been so unreliable that I've subconsciously stopped using it. It's still quicker to use the horrible on screen cursors selector than to attempt a 3D Touch cursor selector then delete all the characters that were inserted into your text during the attempts.
- Safari/Email - it's quicker to open the page then hit back, instead of using "peek and pop"
Click to expand...
- Multi tasking don't even need to move my finger to open up the task switcher
- trackpad 3DT rules
- safari new tab 3DT is very fast

Like everything in life YMMV.
 
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Personally I love 3D Touch and use it all the time, but I could live without it. It's not necessary and I can understand why many people don't use it.

That said, Multitasking on the 6s is incredible though thanks to it. Once you get used to it, pressing the home button twice seems a bit archaic and it's also "slow" compared to just pressing into the screen (though I'm sure not the case for everyone)


Is it worth the price difference from the SE? Probably not, for many people. For others, it may be worth it.
 
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C DM said:
I'm curious, why is it quicker to use the home button for multitasking when going to a previous app then switching with a single 3D Touch swipe? Seems like the user in a preceding post described it the other way around. Or quicker to open a page and then to go back to the app rather than just use peek and pop?
Click to expand...

Well for starters, the 3D Touch app switcher can only be toggled from the left side of the phone. So if you're using the phone with only your right hand, you can try to awkwardly toggle the 3D Touch gesture by reaching your thumb over to the left, which is pretty hard to toggle correctly the first time, or switch hands. So in that example it's quicker to double tap the home button. Also, you have to force press on *just* the right spot to toggle the app switcher, because it's so precise, it's quicker to double tap the home button than make multiple attempts at the gesture.

The Safari and Mail gesture to open links/emails actually results in more clicks/presses. You force press once to "peak", wait for the page to load, view the top of it and decide you want to load the full thing, you then force press again to "pop" and then then page is open. 2 presses to open a website.
Just pressing on the link normally would open the website in one press, the second would only be required if you want to navigate back to the previous page.
 
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What kimd of Myltitasking you Re referring to, guys, in your reference to 3D touch?
 
Use it quite a lot mainly for shortcuts from app icons for things like starting a new message, new calendar event, quickly get to search on IMDB app plus new 9.3 has handy shortcuts on the settings app to get to wifi, battery and bluetooth. Also used it more than i would like for pinging the other halfs iphone from Find my iPhone when she's lost it in the house again!!

One i have spotted in the last few days as well is you can use it on recent contacts that are showing in the spotlight search screen and it gives you quick access to message, call, facetime if an iOS user or email them.
 
3DTouch is just perfect for me, and I miss it on my iPad...
Note, Mail, Runtastic, Phone, Message, Clock, Shazam... and many other apps.
 
I couldn't go back to a phone without it now.

Not sure why nobody here is talking about 3rd party apps?

Facebook, Tweetbot, Reeder... Are all infinitely faster and easier to navigate with 3D Touch.

Example, when somebody posts a collection of photos on Facebook, hard press one, and keep hold. Now slide your finger left and right to scrub through them quickly. If you find one you like, hard press further to open it.
 
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Max(IT) said:
3DTouch is just perfect for me, and I miss it on my iPad...
Note, Mail, Runtastic, Phone, Message, Clock, Shazam... and many other apps.
Click to expand...
jabingla2810 said:
I couldn't go back to a phone without it now.

Not sure why nobody here is talking about 3rd party apps?

Facebook, Tweetbot, Reeder... Are all infinitely faster and easier to navigate with 3D Touch.

Example, when somebody posts a collection of photos on Facebook, hard press one, and keep hold. Now slide your finger left and right to scrub through them quickly. If you find one you like, hard press further to open it.
Click to expand...

I agree with both of you. I use it all the time.
 
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