Next iPhone: Apple plans to introduce Force Touch, keep screen sizes and resolution the same

Apple is considering bringing the Force Touch technology, that it showed first on the Apple Watch and then again two days ago at its ‘Spring Forward’ event, to the next iPhone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Apple showed Force Touch for the first time on the Apple Watch late last year, noting that the screen of the timepiece can tell the difference between a light tap and a harder press (hence, the otherwise awkward sounding Force Touch). The technology is also implemented in the touchpad of the new Macbook. In both cases, the sensation and tactile feedback of the harder Force Touch is said to be conveyed via smartly tuned vibration motors.

The technology could be implemented directly in the screen of the next iPhone, just as it is now implemented with sensitivity all across the display of the Apple Watch.

Force Touch adds a new layer of interaction with touch screens

So how does Force Touch work? It uses a number of ‘Force Sensors’ (four in the latest Macbook) that detect the difference between a light tap and a harder press, the force touch. Then, you get tactile feedback courtesy of a ‘taptic engine’, conveying the senses of a harder press. It is a smarter vibration motor that Apple will be using on the Apple Watch, as well as on the new Macbook.

Judging from the Force Touch functionality on the new Macbook, you could be able to ‘force touch’ on words to get dictionary definitions; force touch on an address to look it up; or force touch on the fast forward button of a video to increase playback speed.

Finally, let’s keep in mind that as authoritative as the source for this rumor is, nothing is official until Apple itself unveils it, so do take it with a healthy grain of salt. At the same time, with all the convergence happening within the Apple ecosystem, we would not be surprised to see Force Touch make its way onto future iPhones.


source: WSJ