Apple had first introduced the 3D in the iPhone 6 and the market was taken up by a storm. Four years after its release, the pressure-sensitive feature will be scrapped off from the phone permanently. The name Haptic Touch is simply a marketing name for a long press combined with haptic feedback from the Taptic Engine.
In a research note shared with MacRumors last week, a team of Barclays analysts confirmed the speculation that the 3D is definitely being eliminated in all the 2019 iPhones. The prediction was made by them in August 2018. This source of information had been accumulated from the Apple suppliers followed by a trip to Asia earlier this month.
However, this is not the first round of rumors; similar speculation was made by The Wall Street Journal in January 2019. It is vague as to why Apple would remove 3D Touch from the next-generation iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max after the brand has already proven that it can integrate the feature into edge-to-edge OLED displays without any issues.
The 3D touch has already been replaced by the Haptic Touch on the iPhone XR, by Apple. The step was taken to achieve a nearly edge-to-edge LCD on the device, likely to be expanded in all 2019 iPhones. The Haptic Touch on the iPhone XR functions in limited areas than the erstwhile 3D Touch. Areas include flashlight, camera shortcuts on the lock screen, Control Center to view hidden toggles and to expand notifications.
Apple quoted with 3D Touch, “This technology senses how deeply users press the display, letting them do more than ever with your apps and games,” bringing a “powerful dimension to the Multi-Touch interface.”
Haptic Touch fails to make a mark better than the 3D
According to recent reports, Apple’s new iPhone lineup will introduce an all-screen Touch ID implementation that will complement the company’s existing Face ID technology. It remains to be observed how this will intrude with Apple’s existing displays, but merging it with 3D Touch could likely be difficult. If this is the case, the elimination this year could simply be an effort to prepare user groups.
Resuming to the company’s 3D Touch substitution, Apple may announce some upgrades in the coming week alongside the introduction of iOS 13. After all, as things look, Haptic Touch is highly inferior because it is limited to fewer places and fails to support Quick Actions app menus or Peek and Pop for previewing content.