What do you think of Force Touch?

[virginblue4]

After using a trackpad with my iMac for the last couple of years, having now moved over the the brand new 15 rMPB, I have to say, I absolutely love Force Touch.

I didn't realise quite how well it would integrate into using the machine. I use it mainly for previewing documents / webpages and renaming files.

I still find it amazing how realistic the feel and sound is. When turning the computer off, the trackpad is completely static, it's very clever.

Certainly looking forward to Force Touch making its way to iPhone / iPad as rumoured.

How is everyone else finding it?

 

[Vermifuge]

After using a trackpad with my iMac for the last couple of years, having now moved over the the brand new 15 rMPB, I have to say, I absolutely love Force Touch.

I didn't realise quite how well it would integrate into using the machine. I use it mainly for previewing documents / webpages and renaming files.

I still find it amazing how realistic the feel and sound is. When turning the computer off, the trackpad is completely static, it's very clever.

Certainly looking forward to Force Touch making its way to iPhone / iPad as rumoured.

How is everyone else finding it?

Force Touch fixed my number one complaint with Macbook track pads. Drag & Drop.

 

[marktuk]

I just recently got a new MBP 13 Retina, and when I first powered it up and started setting up I thought I had been sent the older model without the force touch trackpad, that's how convincing the taptic engine is! It's really very impressive, and I hope app developers are able to start making use of force touch and the taptic engine, there's so much potential.

I would say without a doubt the trackpad is the best trackpad I've ever used hands down.

 

[maflynn]

My only experience is that I played with it at an apple store. My limited time with the trackpad was for the most part positive. I could see myself using it

 

[zhenya]

Very impressed. It feels completely realistic, just like a perfectly even click everywhere. The secondary, harder press also works flawlessly, although I keep finding myself trying it in different contexts to see if it does anything! Overall it feels polished like only Apple can do.

 

[happyhippo1337]

Works well so far, haven't found any real use for it except a more natural looking signature when signing a pdf.

 

[newellj]

Force Touch fixed my number one complaint with Macbook track pads. Drag & Drop.

I totally agree. The uniform pressure is a great improvement.

 

[sebseb]

I have 2 concerns which hopefully I'll test out myself when I get my 15" on Tuesday,

1- How much does the haptic engine drain the battery?
2- Will the strain sensors wear out overtime?

 

[rugmankc]

I like it a lot. Although, I still use the mouse from my old iMac just bc I have it.

 

[T5BRICK]

1- How much does the haptic engine drain the battery?

The impact of the haptic feedback has to be pretty tiny, there isn't a lot going on and they're able to use something similar in the Apple watch, with the tiny battery it has.

2- Will the strain sensors wear out overtime?

Of course they will, but who knows how long that will be.

 

[AlanShutko]

One of the WWDC talks had a session on adding advanced trackpad features. The sample code taps the trackpad when you drag a box to a guide. It's amazing. https://developer.apple.com/videos/wwdc/2015/?id=217

 

[Ovedius]

I absolutely love it.

The old hinges annoyed me greatly; I hated how they became increasingly resistant to input the higher up you moved.
The Force Touch trackpads feel astonishingly natural.
-I swear it feels like a "real" click.
But knowing that it isn't a real hinged click makes it feel like black magic; unnatural and wicked.
For me it is sublime, for my better half it is blasphemy.


I personally think that the Force Touch trackpad is a magical piece of engineering.

 

[newellj]

I have 2 concerns which hopefully I'll test out myself when I get my 15" on Tuesday,

1- How much does the haptic engine drain the battery?
2- Will the strain sensors wear out overtime?

Wait, you're going to do destructive testing on the strain sensors? Please post a video? A little more seriously, that thought crossed my mind, too, but I can't believe they aren't (1) at least as durable as the old "diving board" trackpad and (2) tested to destruction by Apple.

Tap to click is always an option...

 

[digitallegend]

I just recently got a new MBP 13 Retina, and when I first powered it up and started setting up I thought I had been sent the older model without the force touch trackpad, that's how convincing the taptic engine is! It's really very impressive, and I hope app developers are able to start making use of force touch and the taptic engine, there's so much potential.

I would say without a doubt the trackpad is the best trackpad I've ever used hands down.

i thought the exact same thing when i was setting up my macbook for the first time.

 

[sebseb]

Wait, you're going to do destructive testing on the strain sensors? Please post a video? A little more seriously, that thought crossed my mind, too, but I can't believe they aren't (1) at least as durable as the old "diving board" trackpad and (2) tested to destruction by Apple.

Tap to click is always an option...

Yeah what I meant was to test if I get a significant battery increase if I turn off the haptic engine. For the strain test I wanted to use it and see when it will eventually give out.

 

[ZXMustang]

Love it, I'd never go back. Would spend extra $$ for it if I was considering a mid 14 over an early 15.

 

[newellj]

Yeah what I meant was to test if I get a significant battery increase if I turn off the haptic engine. For the strain test I wanted to use it and see when it will eventually give out.

On battery life, I went from a late 2013 13" to an early 2015 13" and haven't noticed a difference but I haven't tried to measure it, either.

On the trackpad, I'm guessing that most of us will replace our laptops well before hardware components like the trackpad wear out, and I'd better be right about that. I don't want to be part of some big hardware failure. Hopefully Apple has tested the new trackpad adequately, but you never really know...

 

[grahamperrin]

It felt reasonably similar to the trackpad on a MacBookPro5,2.

I did not consciously test any feature that might have been specific to the new hardware.

 

[Badrottie]

Yesterday I was at Apple store and wanted to try it out with MBP and force feedback... I don't see any differen between tw0. Maybe I missed some thing?

 

[Fthree]

Love it, I'd never go back. Would spend extra $$ for it if I was considering a mid 14 over an early 15.

100% agree. I think it makes a significant difference as well!

 

[newellj]

Yesterday I was at Apple store and wanted to try it out with MBP and force feedback... I don't see any differen between tw0. Maybe I missed some thing?

Well, you fully demonstrated how transparent the new hardware is - unless you're looking for the differences, you'd think you were using the old one. However, there are two big differences.

First, because it isn't hinged at the top edge, pressure is even across the entire surface. This makes a difference clicking on the upper vs. the lower part of the pad and makes a really big difference if you are dragging and dropping files using the trackpad (because the pressure doesn't change from top to bottom).

Second, and to me much more speculatively at least at this point, the force touch gestures aren't available on the old trackpad. Personally, I haven't found any use for that at this point, but (1) YMMV and (2) developers will probably find many more uses for that in the next year or two.

 

[Badrottie]

Well, you fully demonstrated how transparent the new hardware is - unless you're looking for the differences, you'd think you were using the old one. However, there are two big differences.

First, because it isn't hinged at the top edge, pressure is even across the entire surface. This makes a difference clicking on the upper vs. the lower part of the pad and makes a really big difference if you are dragging and dropping files using the trackpad (because the pressure doesn't change from top to bottom).

Second, and to me much more speculatively at least at this point, the force touch gestures aren't available on the old trackpad. Personally, I haven't found any use for that at this point, but (1) YMMV and (2) developers will probably find many more uses for that in the next year or two.

I will go back to Apple store again today to test drive between two macbook. Thank you.

 

[sebseb]

So FedEx delivered my Mac a day sooner than expected and I have been using Force Trackpad for 2 hours now and I want to know who is the genius behind this magic! this must be some sort of sorcery. It does not feel any different than my MBP 2010 when it comes to clicking. I honestly did not expect it to be this good. I press and I know the trackpad is not moving but you feel it is!! MAGIC

 

[newellj]

So FedEx delivered my Mac a day sooner than expected and I have been using Force Trackpad for 2 hours now and I want to know who is the genius behind this magic! this must be some sort of sorcery. It does not feel any different than my MBP 2010 when it comes to clicking. I honestly did not expect it to be this good. I press and I know the trackpad is not moving but you feel it is!! MAGIC

Try dragging and dropping. I was never able to do that with one hand until I tried the new trackpad!

 

[MacAlien]

TBH Being a new laptop owner, I really don't quite understand what Force Touch is exactly and probably have not utilized much of it. Does take me two fingers to drag window or file from one window to the next but it's an adjustment vs. a regular desktop/mouse.