“Killer features, as a general rule, are few and far in between,” Yoni Heisler writes for BGR.
“The new 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6s, however, is an exciting exception to this rule,” Heisler writes. “In fact, 3D Touch is arguably the first ‘killer feature’ to grace the iPhone in years.”
“Not only does 3D Touch promise to fundamentally change the way we use our smartphones, it’s arguably the most interesting advancement in smartphone interaction design since multitouch,” Heisler writes. “Thus far, almost all of the iPhone 6s reviews we’ve seen have heaped praise on Apple’s new 3D Touch feature. In fact, I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that 3D Touch will not only persuade iPhone 6 owners to upgrade, but may also convince some Android owners to contemplate making the switch over to iOS.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Yup.
Force Touch will be more important than most people think. — MacDailyNews, August 31, 2015
And Android, littered across a veritable junkyard full of disparate devices, will not be able to follow. — MacDailyNews, February 28, 2015
SEE ALSO:
3D Touch is an incredibly difficult feature that Apple got just right – September 16, 2015
How Apple painstakingly built iPhone 6s/Plus’ revolutionary 3D Touch over ‘multi, multi, multi years’ – September 10, 2015
Apple iPhone 6s/Plus’ revolutionary 3D Touch primes suppliers for success – September 10, 2015
3D Touch iPhone 6s/Plus: Apple’s pressure-based screens deliver a world beyond cold glass – September 10, 2015
Engadget hands-on with iPhone 6s/Plus: Using 3D Touch feels completely natural – September 9, 2015
Apple unveils the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus with 3D Touch, Apple A9, 12MP iSight camera, 4K video and more – September 9, 2015
Apple’s new Force Touch patent application reveals stylus, virtual paint brush, 3D buttons interactions – May 28, 2015
Tired of “killer,” tech writer Yoni at BGR. Please abandon in the name of fresh writing.
A large swath of iPhone preorders waiting for deliveries, I have read commenting they are switching to the iPhone. Likewise several employees at work are also commenting about switching, and lamenting their poor decision in buying an Android phone.
I’ve got a 6s+ in my hand and I’m sorry but I just don’t get the appeal of 3d touch. Certainly not a “killer feature”!
I imagine then, there’s a lot you simply just don’t get.
Correction … 3D Touch is the first ‘killer feature’ we’ve seen on ANY Phone in years!
Is there haptic feedback like the watch with this?
Nevermind .. Taptic not Haptic 😉 and I see its on the phone
“killer features […] are few and far in between. The new 3D Touch […] is an […] exception to this rule”
I fail to understand the logic in this sentence: how is that an exception?
I don’t get the ‘3D’ part of the feature name. But I GET the tech! And I’m GETTING the phone! 😀
I’m pretty sure the 3D refers to the 3 dimensions of finger interaction. Think of x, y and z axes. The gestures of swiping, tapping etc previously only on the surface of the screen are in the x and y axis. Pushing harder into the screen to make it flex is pushing into the z axis.
The Apple Watch had force touch with limited, but useful, functionality. Press the WHOLE screen and certain functions are displayed depending which app you have open.
The new iPhones have screens that can sense the area of the screen where your finger is pushing harder. Much more useful in every app, even gaming.
The possibilities of 3D touch are endless.
Access to an actual, full range z axis would be great! But what Apple is offering is a variation of something that has been around for many years: Pressure Sensitivity. Deciding that three levels of pressure sensitivity equates to a third dimension of screen access is stretching the concept of 3D. IOW: I consider it merely an unfortunate marketing term.
As for the tech itself: Lovely!
Haven’t tried it but what I could gather about 3D Touch hardly makes it a “killer”. It is innovative for touch based devices but merely provides a means to get a two level “right click”. Well used, it can provide great UI improvements but it feels like it could easily be abused, making user guidance suffer.
I read some silly article on elimination of the “hamburger menu” and that 3D Touch would solve the whole feature discovery problem. Wrongly used 3D touch is likely to only compound the problem by removing even the only remaining UI element that signals the presence of additional options/actions. If users don’t go to the extra navigation button that they do see, why would they perform a gesture that they have nothing to prompt them to do.
Why people expect/want a new killer feature every other week is beyond me. Who’s there to kill anyway ? Apple’s competition on smart phones is all but dead already. I would fear feature bloating more than the lack of a killer for the near future.
Bahahahaha. Shows how uncompetitive Apple has been since Steve died. The sooner Cook and Ive are fired, the sooner REAL innovation can come out of Cupertino.