3D Touch technology: how it is implemented in Apple smartphones

The prerequisites for the introduction of screen-force recognition technology in smartphones go back to 2014, when the first version of the Apple smartwatch was demonstrated to the general public. The flexible screen of the "smart" gadget was able to detect a stronger touch thanks to the sensor system and the tactile response mechanism of the Taptic Engine. After a while, Force Touch was implemented in the latest generation of trackpads MacBooks. The technology has learned to work with hard glass and recognize two pressure forces already. The appearance of a new feature in Apple phones was only a matter of time and it came in early autumn 2015, when the world saw the announcement of smartphones Apple iPhone 6S 16 GB and Apple iPhone 6S Plus 16 GB .

3D Touch has become a kind of "chip" of a pair of top-end phones, which allows more flexible and fast user interaction with a smartphone . The convenience of managing most functions instantly took off to a new qualitative level. It is only necessary to feel it on your own skin once to be convinced of what has been said definitively and irrevocably.

How does it work?

The design of the screen with support for pressure recognition technology includes a family of 96 capacitive touch sensors located on a special grid between the Corning Glass protective glass and a backlit panel. Sensors collect information about changes in the distance between themselves and from the point of deflection of the glass under the pressure of a finger. The force of pressing on the screen is determined based on the difference in the height of the deflection, which is clearly demonstrated in the animated picture below:

The technology recognizes two different degrees of pressing on the screen — a less strong Peek and a deeper Pop.

3D Touch technology recognizes two different degrees of pressing on the screen — a less strong Peek and a deeper Pop. Apple came up with such names with its own hand. Their main purpose lies in the ability to quickly use a particular function without going directly into the application (for example, to view content or photos in preview mode). The most common and popular scenarios for using 3D Touch are listed below.

A feedback system is located under the sensor layer Taptic Engine that responds to the force of pressing.

In order for the user to understand exactly what kind of pressing force he uses, the Taptic Engine feedback system is located under the layer of capacitive sensors. It accompanies each touch with a tactile vibration response of a certain intensity and duration (10 ms for a less strong Peek click and 15 ms for a deeper Pop click).

You can adjust the parameters of the pressing force or disable this function altogether in the menu item "Settings > General > Universal Access > 3D Touch". There are three options to choose from: weak, medium (by default) and strong pressing.

An important nuance! Often, when setting a weak pressing force, the smartphone may confuse a deeper Pop touch with a less strong Peek.

It should be understood that the introduction of 3D Touch technology was preceded by serious developments, and the prerogative of releasing such display modules is not given to every manufacturer. Therefore, in case of breaking the glass of your favorite iPhone, you should not count on an ultra-fast replacement of the screen. And even more so, there is no need to hope for a democratic price — high technologies, as you know, cost a lot of money.

TOP 7 usage scenarios

A light tap on the application icon brings up the context menu.

1. Quick actions — a less forceful click on the application icon causes a drop-down list of actions (context menu), which can be accessed directly from the main screen. This allows you to get rid of unnecessary clicks and save time for performing the most common operations.

2. Working with text and graphics — with a strong press on the keyboard, the latter turns into a trackpad, which greatly simplifies the movement of the cursor through the text. 3D Touch also makes it easier to select and copy text. And when working in a graphic editor, the force of pressing on the screen determines the thickness of the lines.

Pressing Peek opens the preview window content when clicking on the link in the browser.

3. Preview — a less strong click on Peek opens a preview window of the content when clicking on a link in the browser, an email, a point on the map, or even a user profile on Instagram. If the content is interesting, by pressing Pop more deeply, it will open in full screen, if not, it is enough to remove your finger from the display.

4. Calls and contacts — a less forceful tap on the phone icon opens access to the three most frequently used contacts and the field for creating a new one. Directly in the contacts themselves, a Peek click brings up a drop-down list with a suggestion to quickly send an SMS message, write an email or make a FaceTime audio/video call.

5. Camera — a drop-down action window with a strong finger on the camera icon prompts the user to take a selfie, start a normal or slow-motion video, and also quickly take a normal photo.

The picture installed on the screensaver comes to life with a strong touch.

6. Wallpapers and "live" photos — the picture installed on the screensaver comes to life with a strong touch on the screen. As an image, you can use "live" photos or preset dynamic wallpapers.

7. Games — that's exactly where you can expand widely in the use of 3D Touch technology, so it's in games. Most often, the recognition of the force of pressing is used in races (Asphalt 8, AG Drive, etc.). But other genres are also not alien to him — for example, in the action game Warhammer 40,000: Freedblade, a regular tap on the screen makes the enemy shower with stone rain, pressing harder activates the zoom function, and a deep touch launches heavy artillery.

Alternatives

Among Android smartphones, Meizu Pro 6 has an analogue of 3D Touch.

Among Android smartphones, the only similar analogue of 3D Touch (as of mid-2016) has a top-end phone Meizu Pro 6 32 GB . The technology of the Chinese brand Meizu is called 3D Press and it performs functions similar to Apple technology. That's just that third-party application developers are not in a hurry to massively use the new "chip" in their programs due to the general underdevelopment of the system and small market coverage (unlike Apple smartphones).

A similar function is also stated in the smartphone Huawei Mate S 32 GB / 3 GB , however, in fact, a modification with support for recognizing the force of pressing on the screen is not on the market and, according to the manufacturer, it will be available only in some regions that are not yet named.

As an alternative, Apple's own pressure recognition system (Force Touch) also acts. As mentioned above, it is used in smartwatches and as a trackpad on the latest generations of MacBooks.