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What's the difference between 3D Touch and long press in terms of discoverability?

Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
Nov 14, 2011
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John Gruber and Serenity Caldwell were talking about this on their podcast, arguing that 3D Touch and long press should be combined. I actually agree. What I love most about 3D Touch is the haptic feedback. I would like to see haptics in many more places throughout the OS.

One other thing that came up regarding 3D Touch was discoverability. But couldn't the same thing be said about long press. Go to the mail app on the iPhone and click the icon to create a new email. There is no icon or anything that indicates how to attach a document or photo or any formatting options. Those do exist on the iPad Pro keyboard but when using an iPhone you have to long press to get those options. Same for copy/paste. I just don't see what makes 3D Touch less intuitive than long press. In fact I prefer 3D Touch because of the haptic feedback.

I'd like to see the two combined. For example when you 3D Touch on an icon it could give you the options to remove or move the app. I think once people use it more frequently it will become second nature, just like right-click is in the Windows world. Yes things should always be as intuitive as possible but at the same time making something easy for grandma to use shouldn't preclude adding useful features. People might have to learn something new but as long as it's not difficult and isn't hard to remember I don't see what the problem is. If Apple removed 3D Touch and haptics from the iPhone I'd be a very sad customer.
 
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I found entering jiggly mode on Springboard very difficult when 3D Touch is set to its lowest setting. In a moving vehicle it's almost impossible. It either doesn't register at all or engages 3D Touch. I don't have any motor disability. Jiggly mode should probably be included in the 3D Touch menu, like Share is.
 
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stooovie said:
I found entering jiggly mode on Springboard very difficult when 3D Touch is set to its lowest setting. In a moving vehicle it's almost impossible. It either doesn't register at all or engages 3D Touch. I don't have any motor disability. Jiggly mode should probably be included in the 3D Touch menu, like Share is.
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I agree. I also have a problem even tapping links in safari because apparently I tap just slightly too hard and it starts to peak but then instantaneously cancels the peak so it seems like it just doesn't do anything. Personally I hate 3D Touch because of this sort of stuff but in iOS 10 I can't turn it off because then it completely ****s the notifications.
 
stooovie said:
I found entering jiggly mode on Springboard very difficult when 3D Touch is set to its lowest setting. In a moving vehicle it's almost impossible. It either doesn't register at all or engages 3D Touch. I don't have any motor disability. Jiggly mode should probably be included in the 3D Touch menu, like Share is.
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For my perspective I don't accidentally engage 3dt. I have a light touch and can long press or 3dt without mixing them up.
 
long press has been around forever and ios users are used to it. 3D touch has been around only for, what, 1 (now 2) generations of iphone so far? give it a few years and have it baked into more apps and the OS itself and it'll become second nature.
 
I'd love to have 3 ways of interaction with the UI but Apple has to find a way let people know where to 3D touch. Right now it's just a hit or miss. I find myself 3D touch on thing that can't be 3D touch-ed way too often
 
I7guy said:
For my perspective I don't accidentally engage 3dt. I have a light touch and can long press or 3dt without mixing them up.
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Me top but in some situations, it's just not easy (moving vehicles). For older people or folks with motor limitations it must be downright impossible.
 
stooovie said:
Me top but in some situations, it's just not easy (moving vehicles). For older people or folks with motor limitations it must be downright impossible.
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Lol, moving vehicles on bumpy roads. Fuhgetaboutit. Older people with limitations? There may be a point where these modern devices can't accommodate everybody, even though Apple has done a good job in accessibility.
 
Long press and 3D Touch are the same thing.Only Apple fans emphasize 3DT as superior while Android users right down till Note 2 have been enjoying this for years
 
Radon87000 said:
Long press and 3D Touch are the same thing.Only Apple fans emphasize 3DT as superior while Android users right down till Note 2 have been enjoying this for years
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They can certainly be set up to do the same thing in at least some cases, but they are not the same thing.
 
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3d touch allows you to peek and pop, like in imessages, safari, notes, mail, etc. can't do that with simply a long press. however, some third-party apps can simulate a peek gesture with a long press for phones that don't have 3d touch, e.g telegram messenger. peek/pop combined with taptic feedback is nifty.

3d touching left side of screen then swiping right can also quickly jump you back to your previous app. don't need to waste screen space with a dedicated back key. wouldn't be able to do this with a long press while you're in an app.

3d touching the keyboard also lets you move the cursor around. a jailbreak app called swipeselection does something similar where you can just swipe the keyboard to move the cursor left/right, but it could cause typing errors especially if you're a fast typist. 3d touch prevents this and also lets you move the cursor up/down/left/right instead of just left/right.

if you unintentionally 3d touch, go to accessibility and change the sensitivity to "firm". or disable it altogether if you don't want it at all, and you'll have the same functionality as iphone 5/6 users.
 
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C DM said:
They can certainly be set up to do the same thing in at least some cases, but they are not the same thing.
Click to expand...

Check out the Note 7 right click menu in latest update.Now tell me how is 3DT different in practical use?
 
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C DM said:
One is pressing down with different levels of pressure for different functionalities and the other is holding something for a while?
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Both provide similar functionality as the Note 7 update proves.One works on all devices on Android.The other doesn't.One supports all apps and even the most obscure part of the OS.The other doesn't .One was toggled by a simple software update.The other needs a jailbreak to enable swipe for 3D Touch
 
I7guy said:
I guess on a note you can hooolllldddd it longer for different functionality.
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And in other news I need to jailbreak my iPhone and enable swiiiiiiipppppe for right click menu while my non rooted Android friends with a Galaxy S5 are laughing at me enjoying similar functionality since 2014.I also need to balance my deeeeeep preeeess to not activate that icon jiggling
 
Radon87000 said:
Both provide similar functionality as the Note 7 update proves.One works on all devices on Android.The other doesn't.One supports all apps and even the most obscure part of the OS.The other doesn't .One was toggled by a simple software update.The other needs a jailbreak to enable swipe for 3D Touch
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And yet they are still different as to how they are invoked and some of the things they can do nonetheless. Some good information has also been provided earlier at https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...rms-of-discoverability.2002715/#post-23646540 too.
 
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Radon87000 said:
And in other news I need to jailbreak my iPhone and enable swiiiiiiipppppe for right click menu while my non rooted Android friends with a Galaxy S5 are laughing at me enjoying similar functionality since 2014.I also need to balance my deeeeeep preeeess to not activate that icon jiggling
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What does trying simulate something with software vs doing the action directly in hardware have to do with jail break other than deflection?
 
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I7guy said:
3D Touch is instant and pressure sensitive, which is cool allowing for a lot of variability in interaction with the screen.
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My experience with 3D Touch has been excellent. I find it's very consistent and highly useful.

Yet conversely, the one place I find haptic feedback annoying is its implementation on the iPhone 7 home button. While it's a matter of personal preference, it does seem that outside of this forum there's plenty of people who share my opinion.

Going forward rumors seem to indicate a very different home button implementation for the upcoming Anniversary model. This is a very encouraging thought.
 
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I7guy said:
What does trying simulate something with software vs doing the action directly in hardware have to do with jail break other than deflection?
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Why use dedicated hardware for something which can easily be done through software and has been done on a rival operating system?The very fact that long press emulates 3D Touch makes 3T inferior as it needs dedicated hardware which is unnecessary as jailbreaks prove
 
Radon87000 said:
Why use dedicated hardware for something which can easily be done through software and has been done on a rival operating system?The very fact that long press emulates 3D Touch makes 3T inferior as it needs dedicated hardware which is unnecessary as jailbreaks prove
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Because it's not the same and not all the things can be done with it?

Also, why have and use right click on a mouse when the same thing could be done by pressing some keyboard button and using the regular left click?
 
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