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You scroll on your iPhone, flick and tap your Apple Watch, and “touch” content using Apple Vision Pro—all different ways to interact with Apple’s ecosystem. But there was once another method, one that Apple quietly killed off.
3D Touch debuted as a headlining feature with the iPhone 6s in 2015. Though it was included in several iPhone generations after that, Apple eventually phased it out. Let’s look at the life and death of 3D Touch—and why it deserves a comeback.
3D Touch Was a New Way to Use Your Devices
When3D Touch was enabled, your iPhone couldrecognize the difference between a tap and a press, offering more options when pressed further down on the display. This featuremorphed from Force Touch, which was introduced with the Apple Watch.
When you press down on your iPhone’s screen, a menu appears, offering shortcuts to functions from the corresponding app. For example, if you hold down the Maps app icon, a menu appears with options to easily get directions home, pin your location, or send your location.
The same would work when using an Apple Watch — especially within apps. For example, if you were on the Now Playing screen in Music, you could press down on the display and get a menu to easily AirPlay the song to a nearby speaker, shuffle or repeat a song, or indicate the source of the music.
However, that wasn’t the only use for 3D Touch. Within specific apps, you couldpeek and pop into content. This worked in both system apps and some third-party apps.
For instance, you could be scrolling through your email inbox and find one that intrigues you. If you didn’t want to open that email fully but wanted a peek at what’s inside, you could gently press down on the message, but pressing harder would pop the email open completely.
This feature also worked in apps like Music, Messages, and Instagram, just to name a few. 3D Touch introduced a new way to interact with your iPhone. It was effectively a “middle mouse” button for your iPhone, more than just tapping or tapping and holding.
While it was heavily advertised at launch, it remained vastly underrated. Eventually, Appleshelved the feature in favor of a new directionthat still offers a similar experience, but without the same depth or feel.
The Downfall of 3D Touch
3D Touch lasted on the iPhone for about three years, from the 6s to the XS. Yet, the first sign of the feature fading away was the introduction of the iPhone XR, which was released alongside the iPhone XS in 2018.
The iPhone XR introduced anew feature called Haptic Touchinstead of 3D Touch. This feature works the same as 3D Touch, but instead of pressing down for more options, you hold down on the screen for those additional options to appear.
While the same functionality was present, Haptic Touch was less responsive or quick than 3D Touch. You have to wait a second or two longer for the action to occur—unlike 3D Touch, where the response was instant.
The final nail in the coffin to say that 3D Touch was dead was the announcement of the iPhone 11 Pro. This was the final mark because the Pro models are seen as the more advanced models of the lineup, and their lack of a feature usually means that it has been put to rest.
One reason 3D Touch was removed was that it made manufacturing simpler and cheaper, since Apple didn’t need to include the technology underneath the screen to detect force.
Additionally, despite what rumors at the time said, 3D Touch never came to any iPad model. The only pressure-based feature that came distinctly close to the iPad at the time was theApple Pencilwith the first-generation iPad Pro.
The Apple Watch was not spared from the removal of the force-censoring feature either. In watchOS 7, Apple removed all interactions with Force Touch and also removed the technology on the Series 6.
With all of these devices, Apple replaced their corresponding force-enabled feature with Haptic Touch throughout the ecosystem. It was now enabled on all iPhones, Apple Watches, and iPads, marking the first time Apple had a shortcut feature like this on iPad models.
While Haptic Touch replicates much of what 3D Touch and Force Touch could do, it doesn’t do it as well, making it less appealing to use compared to the instant, pressure-sensitive experience 3D Touch offered.
Why 3D Touch Should Make a Comeback
While Haptic Touch has gotten some improvements over the years, it’s still not as good as 3D Touch was. The feature has come close to it, but nothing beats the original.
One update to Haptic Touch that made it very similar to 3D Touch was Apple’s addition of speed selection within the Accessibility settings. Selecting “Fast” from the fast, default, and slow options makes it feel the closest to 3D Touch being back.
Mine is set to the fast setting to simulate the feeling 3D Touch once brought, but I can still say it doesn’t feel exactly the same. Additionally, Haptic Touch doesn’t support peek and pop like the original.
For example, you’re able to hold down on a photo to peek into it, but continuing to press harder won’t do anything. When 3D Touch was still around, you could lightly press to peek, then push with more force to pop it open. To trigger the pop animation, you have to lift your finger and tap the photo while it’s in peek mode.
Again, it performs the same function but not as well. Lifting your finger to tap doesn’t take much effort, but it removes the magic that the original peek-and-pop experience used to deliver.
Additionally, removing Force Touch on the Apple Watch was a big mistake. It now takes longer to do actions that were quicker before. For example, if you had a bunch of notifications, you could press down on the display to clear all of them. Now,you need to scroll all the way to the topto press a button labeled “Clear All.”
Unlike on the iPhone, where Haptic Touch supports most 3D Touch features, there was really no replacement for Force Touch on the Apple Watch. Now, you can scroll or go through multiple menus to get to the actions you could easily do before by pressing firmly down on the screen.
Force detection was an intuitive way to use your device, allowing you to interact with content in fun, natural ways that made sense. Yet that technology is gone, replaced by a mimic that fails to deliver the same experience.
What’s more disappointing is that 3D Touch was a solid, reliable feature with little to no issues. Today, iOS features often launch buggy or inconsistent—even after the public release. However, in iOS 9, 3D Touch worked exactly as promised, with minimal hiccups. With Apple continuing to add features that make actions on the iPhone quicker and more efficient, 3D Touch should be brought back in support of that initiative. It was responsive, reliable, and intuitive.
3D Touch was ahead of its time, but Apple ultimately phased it out due to low usage among iPhone users and the added complexity and cost of including the technology. However, there’s still hope it could make a comeback—just like MagSafe did on MacBooks.
With rumors swirling aboutApple developing a thinner iPhone, possibly the iPhone 17 Air, it’s becoming harder to believe 3D Touch will return. Apple will likely cut non-essential features to achieve a thinner and lighter design.
3D Touch was a great addition, and I’m one of the fans who still miss it. It helped me complete tasks faster and made my iPhone feel more responsive and alive.
Maybe the feature will return someday—perhaps just in the Pro models. But until then, I’ll settle for Haptic Touch, because at the end of the day, it’s better than nothing.
