Force Touch: Innovating How We Use Our iPhones And iPads

Apple is expected to unveil its next iPhone model in September of this year, and since 2015 is an S year (a year in which the company releases an iPhone S model), we will likely see a new smartphone that basically retains the same design as last year’s iPhone 6, but with new enhancements in interior components and even software features. 

And many are betting big that the most significant upgrade in the upcoming new iPhone model is Force Touch, Apple’s new pressure sensitive display technology that promises to innovate how we interact with our iPhones and iPads. Apple has actually already launched a couple of products that feature this piece of technology, but as a major feature of the new iPhone 6S, this feature is set to become mainstream a few weeks from now.

What makes Force Touch so special is that it combines a pressure sensitive display (or a trackpad) with haptic feedback underneath. Haptic refers to any type of interaction that involves touch or the varying intensities of pressured taps (Xbox One utilizes game controllers that feature advanced haptics to produce rumbling sensations). As manipulated by Apple, the technology allows for the creation of a mobile device display screen that responds to pressure sensitive touch or taps. 

Sure, the Apple Watch already has the feature on its watch face, the same with the trackpads used by the new Retina MacBooks (Pro and 12 inch). But imagine this technology in a device as commonly used as a smartphone or tablet -- the applications of the feature would be incredibly diverse. Mobile consumers can take advantage of Force Touch technology while texting, playing games, operating apps, browsing social media, or when taking selfies. 

It would be wise to not get ahead of ourselves here, but the possibilities are as endless as they are cool. The modern mobile user can already do fairly well typing text messages on a touch screen, but with Force Touch technology, additional functionalities can be incorporated -- you could generate capital letters, special symbols, italicize a character, or even produce an emoji depending on how light or how hard you press on the display screen.

In the case of devices that use a stylus pen (like the iPad Pro), Force Touch technology could facilitate better control especially in illustration, in the strokes of hand drawn graphic elements, in coloring (light pressure bring light colors, heavy pressure brings dark colors), and even in calligraphy.

There are sure to be more undiscovered applications of Force Touch technology for mobile devices. The exciting part about this is that it could cause a chain reaction -- the existence of this technology could bring forth more new apps and games that would take advantage of the new functionalities it allows for users. Without a doubt, the Force is really strong on this one.