My Paltry Gripe on Inconsistencies between Force Touch and 3D Touch
If you’re using an iPhone 6S or later, 3D Touch is something you’re probably familiar with.
I absolutely love this capability as it allows a whole new dimension of interaction with the phone. A lot of stock and third party apps have done great and creative things with 3D Touch.
If 3D Touch is something you seldom use, I strongly recommend you consciously start using it more for the next two days, and you’ll not stop after that, if you’re like me.
As well implemented as 3D Touch may be, the obsession with pressing started for Apple with Force Touch on the Apple Watch.
They are both very similar features technically, operationally and in terms of experience for the user. But, apple has adopted them quite differently. And, that’s my biggest complain.
Differences
Force Touch can detect force variations on the screen, but, it ignores the touch point while you’re pressing the screen on the Apple Watch.
3D Touch can detect force as well as where the finger is being pressed on the screen.
This makes sense considering the screen sizes of the devices that sport them. The Apple Watch’s screen is so small that when I place my finger on the screen, I can barely read or see anything meaningful. It would be hard to apply force on a particular UI element on the watch with a decent level of accuracy.
On the contrary, targeting an element on the screen is definitely possible on a phone.
That explains why they are different. And, that is fine.
The Complaint
My biggest gripe is about the Notification Center on these devices.
I’m so used to pressing on notifications on the iPhone lock screen and Notification Center that I almost always Force Touch a notification on my Apple Watch when I intend to tap on the notification to perform a quick action.
Most of the times, I need to go back and consciously remember to tap on my watch as opposed to pressing on the iPhone. Sometimes, I just give up and take my phone out to perform the actions.
This is because I’m a big phone user than a watch user. If you are more of a watch user, then, you’d probably feel this gap I’m trying to explain in interacting with the notifications on the iPhone.
Fundamentally, the intended thought behind these two (similar) technologies are different. 3D Touch happens within the context of the element that’s pressed on whereas, Force Touch happens within the context of the entire view on display on the Apple Watch at that moment. I understand why that’s so, it’s even logical.
Nevertheless, when you’re so used to pressing on every discernible element on the iPhone, it’s hard not to do that on the Watch, specially when you use them so closely together.
Summary
As different platforms, the design and interaction decisions made on these two types of “Touches” are totally understandable.
However, most Apple Watch users are iPhone users, and, it’s also true that a significant portion of these iPhone and Apple Watch users are on iPhones that are either 6Ss or later ones. So, all these people use both Force and 3D Touches. Now, this small gripe is the kind of use case that is very important when you’re selling an ecosystem more than just a device.
To be fair, I think Apple has done very well in offering a laudable ecosystem. And, for most cases, they maintain uniformity and familiarity between their platforms.
The Apple Watch and the iPhone are two devices that are used so much together and they form a symbiotic relationship with each other. Quite frequently, you start doing a task on the watch and you continue doing it on the iPhone. Because of this level of closeness in their operations and interactions, more thought needs to be put into avoiding confusing interactions between these systems.
