What is 3D Touch and Force Trackpad: How it Works

What is 3D Touch and How it Works? Here is All You Need to Know About

With several defining innovations that have changed the way we look at technologies, Apple has become synonymous of modernism. What was once believed to be complex, the Cupertino-based company made it unbelievably simple. Whether it's a mouse or an ultra-advanced smartphone with a large screen having just a single button, Apple has been a pioneer in bringing innovative technology to the world. The tech giant first introduced Multi-touch that brought about a revolutionary change in the way we navigate apps using Tap, Swipe, and Pinch on iOS devices. The iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus recognise force as well as gestures in order to offer more accurate haptic feedback. This in turn results in apps being more accessible thanks to variations in pressure offering previews, quick swiping and more.

Quick access to apps from home screen

One of the great things about 3D Touch, if you can get used to using it, is quicker access to various app actions from the home screen. Not all apps offer compatibility with 3D Touch, but there are more on board now than when 3D Touch first appeared. Pressing and holding a compatible app's icon on home screen will pull up a menu, allowing you to perform various tasks without having to open up the app first. For example, pressing and holding the camera app will allow you launch the selfie camera rather than main snapper, while Maps will offer the option to mark your destination or send your location.

How does 3D Touch Works

Capacitive sensors are integrated into the back light of the Retina display. With pressure, microscopic changes between the cover glass and back light are measured, which combined with the touch sensor and accelerometer should provide accurate pressure response. The 3D Touch technology is included in all Apple's devices capable of detecting touch pressure variations. You'll therefore find it in the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It is currently not available in the iPads, despite the iPad Pro 9.7, iPad Pro 10.5 and iPad Pro 12.9 all offering pressure-sensitive displays compatible with the Apple Pencil. It is also not available on the smaller and cheaper iPhone SE. 
The 3D Touch capability is made possible by a “capacitive sensor layer” that is located at the very back of the display panel. The 3D Touch sensor layer looks like a grid of golden rectangles, or capacitor plates that are connected to the control chip. This findings runs contradictory to Apple’s previous claim that the 3D Touch pressure sensors were integrated into the backlight. iFixit a company that teardown devices found that the layer of capacitive pressure sensors “seems to be a separate component entirely.” To make 3D Touch work from touchscreen to sensor plate, Apple also worked with the makers of Gorilla Glass to create a pliable glass that bends ever so slightly. This means that the deeper you press down on the glass, the closer your finger will be to the corresponding capacitor plate right beneath the display.

What is the force touch Track-pad found on apple Macbook Pro

Force Touch is a new type of trackpad (the square area on a MacBook that you slide your finger around and press to control the on-screen pointer). Apple's trackpad already has various gestures thanks to multi-touch, but Apple has added pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback to the mix (thanks to the Taptic Engine).
There's a lot of new terminology here. Here are some Force Touch terms to become acquainted with:
  • Force Click: This is a new type of click where you press deeper, and harder on the trackpad than normal. The trackpad depresses to a second level and the Force Click produces a different result. For example: clicking on a word selects the word; pressing harder to Force Click a word selects it and brings up the dictionary definition of the word.
  • Haptic feedback: This is the response from a small electrical buzz in the Force Touch trackpad that simulates pressing the pad. The haptic feedback responds to touches and simulates a small click effect using electromagnets (rather than the physical depress of the trackpad). The surface of the trackpad stays fixed.
  • Taptic Engine: This is Apple's name for the electromagnets that sit underneath the Force Touch trackpad. The Taptic Engine is what responds to your finger presses, and provides haptic feedback accordingly.
  • Pressure sensitivity: As well as the standard Click and Force Click the Force Touch trackpad measures pressure sensitivity. Apple's Force Touch developer page states: " Drawing and other creative apps can take advantage of the pressure-sensing capabilities of the trackpad to make lines thicker or give a brush a changing style."  
"Cant innovate anymore, my ass !" once apple's Phil Schiller said and apple with technological breakthroughs like force touch and 3D touch seems to prove it.

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