Where to enable 3d touch on iphone 6s. Quickly view your list of favorite contacts. Why is it important

New smartphones iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus from Apple. On this occasion, the editors of Trashbox have prepared an article about one of the most important functions of these devices - 3D Touch and its integration into iOS. In this material, you can read about how this technology works, the best applications that support it, and how to properly configure 3D Touch.

How it works

3D Touch technology has truly brought iOS to new level interaction with content. IN operating system new gestures have appeared - Peek and Pop, and with a long press on the icons that are on the desktop, you can call quick functions. For example, a long press on the “Mail” icon will quickly open a menu with unread messages, and clicking on “Camera” will open a menu with functions for taking a quick selfie, recording video, and others.



New gesture Peek is triggered by lightly tapping on any content in the app. For example, in the Mail application, you can easily click on the preview of an unread letter, after which a small window will open with basic information in the letter. If you hold your finger on the screen and press a little harder, the full window for viewing the letter will open, the entire history of correspondence with the recipient, and a keyboard will also appear for writing a response.

The Peek gesture is convenient because by clicking on a preview of something in the application, you can view the content, and only then remove your finger, and the preview window will automatically close. It is also worth noting that 3D Touch is used in new feature“live” photos (Live Photos) - short videos, on which some action is captured. This is what is reproduced by long pressing on a “live” photo. All detailed information You can learn about 3D Touch in the official promotional video from Apple.

How to setup

3D Touch technology recognizes multiple levels of pressure on the screen. Not only the touch itself is recognized, but also its strength. Peek and Pop gestures work using this data. However, they may not be convenient for everyone standard settings, which is why Apple has provided this option.


To customize 3D Touch “for yourself” you need to go to Settings → General → Universal access→ 3D Touch. The user can select three levels of pressure recognition: Weak, Medium and Strong. Always installed by default Average level, but, as it became known from user reviews, the most optimal is Weak. At this level, all gestures and long presses are well recognized in any conditions. If you are used to pressing hard on the screen, then it is better to select Medium or Strong levels. In any case, you can test the long press in the picture below the level adjustment slider.


If you don’t like 3D Touch at all, then this technology can be completely turned off with a toggle switch in the same menu.

The best apps optimized for 3D Touch

Many developers have already implemented support for gestures and long presses for 3D Touch technology. We have selected the best such programs in the form of a short list with a description of the functionality and specific use of 3D Touch:


Free and official application for popular social network with photos - Instagram.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by long pressing on an icon - View feed, new photo, search, direct message; Quickly view photos using Peek & Pop gestures.


Popular service to recognize music playing near you.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions via an icon on the desktop - Open application, Recognize song now, Autostart.


High quality, but paid application to view weather information.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by clicking on the icon - viewing the weather in the current location and searching for a new place to monitor the weather.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by clicking on the icon - write a new tweet, send Direct Message and search by tweets.


Paid alternative application cameras for iOS. Features a large number additional settings.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick functions by clicking on the icon - selfie, macro photography, going to the gallery.


Mail client with convenient sorting of letters by their type - direct messages, mailings, spam, etc.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by clicking on an icon - calendar, attachments from letters, search, write a letter.


An application for taking photos in retro style or analog camera style.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by clicking on an icon - take a photo of food, a photo of a sunset, a portrait, edit the last photo.


An application with a detailed and spectacular star map.

Implementation of 3D Touch: quick actions by clicking on the icon - favorites, search, satellites, launch the application.


A racing simulator with a claim to distant realism. Present good graphics and soundtrack.

Implementation of 3D Touch: used to control the car during racing (smooth turns with weak pressures and sharp turns with strong ones).

It is worth noting that in almost all standard applications There is also support for 3D Touch and related functions. List of all applications: App Store, Calendar, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Game Center, iBooks, Mail, Maps, News, Notes, Phone, Safari, Wallet.

Is a brilliant but underrated piece of screen technology.

In this article, we'll cover how to use 3D Touch and combine the most useful tricks, tips, shortcuts, and new features with 3D Touch support.


What is 3D Touch?

The 3D Touch interface is based on the Force Touch technology that Apple previously introduced in the MacBook and (under the name Force Touch). Essentially, the function performed depends on how hard you press the screen, but while your watch can differentiate between two levels of pressure - standard and the firmer Force Tap - the touchscreen offers three options.

Most people instinctively know the gestures they use with their iPhone. 3D Touch introduces two new standard gestures - Peek and Pop, which we explain below - and a wide range of quick shortcuts And additional features interface.

Which iPhones Get 3D Touch?

All 4.7-inch and larger iPhones from 6 and up. This means that all Apple phones currently except the SE can use 3D Touch.

  • iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
  • iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
  • iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
  • iPhone X
How to turn 3D-Touch on (or turn it off)


3D Touch will be activated by default on any new iPhone(except SE), but you can disable it. Going to " Settings»> « Basic»> « Availability", and pressing "3D Touch". Then adjust your sensitivity.

Peek and pop for preview document

Peek and Pop are pressure sensitive gestures. Press the screen with medium force and you'll perform a Peek; press harder and you perform a Pop.

Peek lets you view the contents of an email, document, web page, map directions, or other link without opening the app. You can then select "Place Item" in the appropriate application if you want to learn more.

If you're in the Mail app and don't press too hard on an email, a preview of the message will appear so you can check email without opening it completely. You can then press harder to fully open the Pop email, or you can release your finger to close the preview and return to the screen you were on previously. Additionally, you can scroll up and see the Quick Actions menu.

He works in different applications so Peek can be used to preview an image in messages and Pop opens Full Screen image and allows you to edit it. Here are some of the things we've seen: Peek and Pop and used for:

  1. Preview and open mail messages.
  2. View and open web links in Safari.
  3. Preview images through applications.
  4. Opening a location in Maps.
These are interactions in Apple apps for iOS, but developers can freely implement Peek and Pop gestures in their apps.

Preview one app without leaving another

Peek and Pop may not seem very useful if you are working in one application, but when we start working with multiple applications, you will see the added convenience.

For example, if someone sends you an address in email, you can click on it to go to Maps and see directions. But if you press harder on that address, a handy map preview will appear without pushing you out Mail applications. You can then swipe the screen, tap again to go to Maps, or release to go back.

There are similar preview options for large quantity applications.

Quick Actions

Another interaction called Quick Actions is made possible because the Taptic Engine used in 3D Touch is able to detect the difference between much shorter taps.

Apple Jony Ive distinguishes between two clicks:

  • Mini Tap: lasts only 10ms
  • Full Tap: Duration 15ms or more

Although these numbers seem insanely small, they can be instinctive to use. On the Home screen, use a mini-Tap to open the menu for an application.

While Mini Tap opens an app, the " Full access» offers menu shortcuts. Full press on the Mail icon and you will see Inbox, VIP, Search and New Message. Doing a full press on the Camera app opens up the ability to capture Self without having to open the app and switch between iSight cameras and Facetime.

In many ways, Full Tap can be thought of as the equivalent of a mouse's Command-Click. This allows you to display a menu for an application. These menus offer shortcuts to things you usually do with this application.

Developers also have access to Quick Actions and can use the technology to measure shorter taps in games and other applications. Between fast action and pressure sensitivity, we hope that developers (especially game developers) will implement much more complex interactions.

Peek and Swipe

A gesture similar to quick actions is Peek and Swipe. This gesture is where you tap on the screen and swipe up to bring up the menu.

The Peek and Swipe gesture was demonstrated by Apple, but it's easy to mistake it for quick actions. Peek and Swipe inside Safari to get a menu that lets you open new tabs, add items to your reading list, or copy links.

This is just a small part of the possibilities that open to you with 3D Touch on iPhone.

Last Wednesday, a significant event took place: Apple, as expected, held a presentation of its new devices. We saw a significantly updated Apple TV media player, super-fast iPhone 6s and 6s Plus in pink and gold, a giant iPad Pro. Among such a variety of new products, it is quite reasonable to assume that the new Apple technology called 3D Touch may have gone unnoticed by you.

So what is 3D Touch? In short, 3D Touch is new way interaction with your devices. Today there are three basic gestures when working with a smartphone or tablet: swipe, pinch and tap. However, iPhone 6S owners will receive new option interaction with a smartphone. In order to open something or preview something on their smartphone, they will be able to use the pressure on the screen.

In other words, every time you press your finger on a link, photo, calendar date, email, message, application (etc., etc.) you will see a small preview or a list of useful options for work with them. If you apply more force when pressing, more will open to you. full menu settings - and all this will happen without switching from current screen devices. As a result, you will be able to manage your device much more quickly and efficiently. Below we will take a closer look at understanding how 3D Touch technology works.

3D Touch on Home screen

For example, you want to text your friend about your plans for the evening. On older iPhones, you would have to launch the Messages app first. However, on the iPhone 6S you can shorten the path: if you hold down the Messages application icon on Home screen then you will see a small list of it available options Quick Look, while the background around the icon will appear blurry (the options vary depending on the application, but include the most commonly used settings). If you apply more pressing force, you will be transferred directly to the messaging window with this person.


In the Quick Look list of the Messages app shortcut, you have the option to send quick message for the last three contacts with whom you corresponded. If you click on the Mail icon, a menu will open with options for going to the inbox, searching for received letters and writing new ones. In the Camera app, you can quickly switch to selfie mode this way.

3D Touch in applications

3D Touch technology works not only on the Home screen, but also inside applications. For example, you opened a letter from your friend. She invites you to go to a dubious restaurant and, to make it more informative, has included a link to its website in the message. By clicking on this link, a small preview of the website of this restaurant will open; if what you see does not make the right impression on you, you simply remove your finger from it and the preview disappears. Then you can instantly text your friend: “No, thank you.”

If you want to find out a little more about the restaurant (instead of viewing the preview), you simply click on the link a little harder and the site instantly opens in your web browser.

The same applies to the date and time at which a friend wants to meet: press your finger on the date indicated in the letter and a preview of your calendar will open for you. If you see in the pop-up window that you are free on a given day and time, you remove your finger from the date, the preview disappears, and you can instantly write your answer to her. If you need to take a closer look at your calendar to find a new date, you just press a little harder on the calendar and this application opens completely.

Perhaps the most difficult thing to understand about 3D Touch technology is how it works with three levels of pressure. Anyone who has ever used touch screen I'm very familiar with the first level, which simply requires you to touch something on your screen. The second level of pressure is a longer touch, meaning you press and hold your finger on the screen. If you want to open something completely, you apply more force and thus move to the third level of pressure.

iPhone 6S also includes the ability to track ongoing pressure while you're in an app—great for drawing and gaming. For example, you are in Notes app, and you wanted to draw. You touch the screen with your finger and begin to draw lines, applying more pressure in some places and less pressure in others, so that in some places the lines will be thicker and in others thinner. The same goes for games. The harder you press on the screen, the harder you will shoot at your enemies. Conversely, by releasing the pressure on the screen, you will thereby reduce your shooting power. In some applications, pressing harder will enlarge the image.

The history of 3D Touch

3D Touch did not appear on empty space, it is based on Force Touch technology, which Apple used in Apple Watch and MacBook trackpads.

Despite the fact that 3D Touch technology cannot be called ideal for laptops, it fits perfectly into user interface small devices. How smaller screen, the more effort the user makes to accurately hit the desired menu or icon with his finger. In this regard, 3D Touch will make life much easier iPhone owners 6S.

This option will most likely extend to other Apple devices, however, in our opinion, its greatest success will be in iPhones, especially after third party developers will begin to use its advantages in their applications. Eg, Instagram service has already updated its applications so that users can take full advantage of the new technology. It's only a matter of time before other popular sites and applications adopt 3D Touch.

So, 3D Touch is a true evolution in the interaction between you and your devices. In the past, when we controlled our iPods by scrolling the wheel, we thought it was the most perfect way navigation between the artist, his albums and songs. Subsequently, this navigation was transformed into swipe, pinch and tap, which further simplified the management of iOS devices, but a new time has come and new technology.

3D Touch helps you skip a lot of unnecessary additional steps– especially when you don’t know where you are and are trying to get to as quickly as possible desired window or application. Overall, the new technology is guaranteed to save you a lot of time, and you will be able to navigate your smartphone more efficiently.

In reviews of Apple mobile devices, you can often come across the term 3D Touch. But, at the same time, it is always far from explained what 3D Touch is, why this technology is used in the iPhone and how it works.

3D Touch is a technology from Apple that allows you to monitor different levels of pressure on a keyboard. 3D Touch was introduced in the fall of 2015 and has been used in all iPhone models since then.

The technology works based on sensors that are built directly into the screen of the mobile device itself. Pressure force is determined by measuring the slightest changes in the distance between the screen glass and the backlight level. 3D Touch technology also uses an accelerometer and other sensors. Using all this information, the device can determine the user's pressure level and intent.

Using 3D Touch greatly expands the possibilities touch control mobile device. Thanks to this technology, in addition to classic gestures (touching, swiping, pinch-and-spread, etc.), you can use gestures with different levels taps on the screen, this allows the user to interact with the content without leaving the current application. For example, you can click on a page and see its preview, then you can press harder and go to the full view.

In addition, using 3D Touch allows you to speed up interaction with applications. The user can click on the application icon and, using forceful pressing, immediately select one of the proposed actions. This way you can call a person from the list favorite contacts without even opening the Phone app.

How to use 3D Touch

3D Touch can be used in different situations. Now we will look at some of the most representative scenarios in which using 3D Touch can be really very useful.

Using 3D Touch, you can quickly enable some application function without wasting time launching the application itself. So, if you press hard on the “Messages” application, a list of users with whom you communicate will appear. Clicking on any of these users will take you directly to a chat with that user. Similar "quick actions" are available for many other applications.

In some cases, along with a list of quick actions, a small widget with information from the application appears on the screen. For example, if you press hard on the Weather application icon, a weather widget and a list of quick actions will appear.

Quick actions are also available for application folders. If you press hard on such a folder, a menu will appear with which you can rename the folder or launch one of the applications.

You can open Notification Center and use 3D Touch on the button with the "X" sign. As a result, a button will appear with which you can delete all notifications at once. You can also use 3D Touch to preview the content that is mentioned in the notification.

3D Touch also works in Control Center. For example, you can open Control Center and force-click on the flashlight icon. As a result, a menu will appear in which you can select the operating mode. In addition, in the Control Center, 3D Touch can be used on the timer, calculator and camera icons.

As you can see, 3D Touch opens up many additional control options iPhone interface and saves a lot of time.

If you have an iPhone 6s or more new model Apple smartphone, you probably know about such a function as 3D Touch. If not, this is when you press the screen with force and it appears context menu With additional functions. But we bet you're not using all the features of 3D Touch! This article will help you learn more about the function and make your life easier.

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What is the 3D Touch function (3D touch)?

3D Touch is an Apple technology that allows you to determine how hard you press on the display. Thanks to this function, you can (by clicking on iPhone screen with effort) call some functions of the application without launching it. The 3D touch first appeared in iPhone smartphones 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The technology is based on another Apple development called Force Touch, used in Apple watch Watch and on the trackpads of Macbook laptops.

Which iPhones work with 3D Touch?

3D Touch is supported on iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.

How to use 3D Touch (3D touch) on iPhone?

Below you will find a comprehensive list of scenarios for using 3D Touch.

1. Application icons

The simplest action. Just tap the app icon harder than you normally would. Useful shortcuts (buttons) will open in front of you quick access) to useful and frequently used functions. Some applications also display a mini version of their widget.

Information on what 3D Touch provides for individual applications:

App Store— quick access to store search, entering iTunes code, button "Update All" and transition to Shopping.


Music— a widget with recently played songs and a search field.


Safari- opening a new tab, “private” tab, launching the bookmarks bar and ;


Telephone— quick access to 4 contacts, search and create a new contact.


Photo- widget for the tab " Memories”, and sections for recently viewed photos, favorites and search.


iBooks- recently open documents, books and audiobooks.


Weather- widget with your current location, shortcuts for adding three favorite cities.


Camera— a shortcut for quick access to taking selfies, recording videos, slo-mo and creating a simple photo.


Calendar— a widget with upcoming events and a shortcut for adding new events.


Watch- shortcuts for quick creation alarm, start a timer or stopwatch.


Notes— recently opened notes, shortcuts for creating notes, to-do lists and sketches.

2. Open the multitasking menu

This works best when your iPhone doesn't have a case. Make a 3D Touch gesture in the left corner of the screen, wait for the haptic feedback and swipe right. This will open the multitasking menu with running applications. If you continue to swipe to the right, you will be taken to the last open app.

3. Notifications

Starting with iOS 10, notifications in the mobile operating system Apple steel interactive. Some programs - for example, Viber or Messages - after a 3D Touch gesture, display a large preview of the incoming message on the locked screen. 3D Touch also brings up a context menu with additional options for use - for example, retweet in the Twitter application.

3D Touch also allows you to quickly clear all notifications from the Notification Center by swiping and tapping the “x” icon in the Center.

4. Safari

If you 3D Touch a link, a pop-up window will appear with the information available on that page (meaning you don't even have to go to another site). If you still want to switch, just press harder on the screen or remove your finger from the screen. Apple calls this Peek function and Pop. The name, of course, is funny - but you will appreciate the convenience very quickly. And in instant messengers, this function displays a preview of the dialogue.

5. Control center

3D Touch-clicking on the sound adjustment opens a window for more precise adjustments:

Clicking on the mini-player opens it in a new window in more detail:

The flashlight changes the light intensity:

The Brightness button allows you to change the intensity of the screen brightness, and also displays function controls and:

Clicking on the Calculator allows you to copy the latest result:

Clicking the Camera button allows you to quickly take a selfie, record a video, or take a portrait:

Clicking on the card with wireless modules reveals large quantity possibilities:

6. The keyboard turns into a trackpad

This is one of the most valuable features of 3D Touch. If you need to work with the cursor, just touch the virtual iPhone keyboards with force - and it will turn into a touchpad-trackpad! Move the cursor across the screen in any direction - the newly-made “trackpad” will understand everything.

7. Notification folder

Let's say you have a folder of dozens of apps on your iPhone - and several of them have at least one notification. 3D Touch gesture on a folder - and all programs will be lined up on the screen with a red circle above them. Point your finger at the desired name and release it - the application will launch immediately.

8. Downloading applications

3D Touch - touching an application that is this moment downloads the update from the Internet, will give access to additional options— pausing downloads or prioritizing (useful when the App Store is updating 30 applications at once, and you want to launch one of them as soon as possible).

9. Phone app

Clicking on any contact brings up a context menu with useful options- call via FaceTime, sending email or SMS. Convenient - no need to go through menus again.