4 ms·

Although 3D touch is not widely supported (even by Apple's apps) the "trackpad" on the keyboard alone is worth it.

tlrobinson 11y ago
Wow, I've had an iPhone 6S for months and didn't realize this existed. Maybe I should check the documentation, but this also highlights the discoverability problem of 3D Touch. I guess I need to get in the habit of trying to "3D Touch" all over the place to find new features?
- bennyg 11y ago
  Wow, same here. Nifty little feature.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ino 11y ago
To the point that I get frustrated when I have to write on a phone without it. It's really nice to be able to move the cursor and select text so easily and fast. It feels like a hack.
etrautmann 11y ago
I couldn't agree more - this makes typing and correcting mistakes unbelievably easier.
Someone1234 11y ago
This is going a little off topic: But Microsoft's on-screen keyboard has the best trackpoint for doing that. Doesn't require 3D touch and works wonderfully. Looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/eX2bfHp.jpg https://i.imgur.com/eX2bfHp.jpg The blue dot is always there, but the four way arrows only appear after you press it, and you can drag further away to move faster, or closer to move slower. It is one of these things that after you use it you wonder why everyone hasn't copied it yet. Microsoft's keyboard is actually the best thing on Windows Mobile.
- ohitsdom 11y ago
  Apple's accessibility feature works the same way.
- brianwawok 11y ago
  > It is one of these things that after you use it you wonder why everyone hasn't copied it yet. Patents are very possible
  - geon 11y ago
    Does IBM have a patent for the hardware version of it?
    - acveilleux 11y ago
      This is yet another invention from PARC that was marketed/finished outside of Xerox. The patent was initially filed in 1990 and granted in 1996. So it should have expired in 2013. It seems to be owned by Lexmark (which was owned by IBM.)
- lewisl9029 11y ago
  Wow. I wish something like this was available on Windows 10 for tablets/convertibles.
  - Someone1234 11y ago
    Don't get me started on that. I still want gesture based typing (Swype) on the Surface Pro. The on screen keyboard is substantially worse on full Windows 10 than it is on Windows 10 Mobile, it makes no sense at all... What the heck Microsoft? Why is a keyboard on a 5" device better than a keyboard on a 10" one?
- cmyr 11y ago
  And I heard a while ago that Microsoft is working on bringing their keyboard to iOS. The 3rd party keyboard APIs on iOS are still awful, which would explain any delay/hesitance on their part. :(
wodenokoto 11y ago
Why didn't they just implement the two finger trackpad from the ipad?
- JimDabell 11y ago
  You can't use that gesture one-handed.
  - wodenokoto 11y ago
    You have pinch to zoom all over ios, so that is obviously not the reason.
    - JimDabell 11y ago
      No you don't. Double tap also zooms.
baddox 11y ago
It's great when it works, but it's a shame that it barely works. There is clearly some state machine with lots of states that don't let you activate the trackpad.
- geon 11y ago
  It's really weird how you must wait a short moment after touching the keyboard until you can hard-press, or it will just ignore you. Then you let go, and now you accidentally typed a letter... would have worked better with a button on the keyboard that turns it into a trackpad.
  - baddox 11y ago
    Yeah, it's much nicer on the iPad, where you just scroll with 2 fingers to use the trackpad feature.
- glhaynes 11y ago
  Much improved in my experience in iOS 9.3 that came out today. Thankfully, because it was infuriating before.
tedmiston 11y ago
^ This is also IMO the best use of 3D Touch. This video explains how to activate it for those who haven't used it before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpCPOSCu10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpCPOSCu10 Edit: I wasn't aware of the double peek to select whole sentences. Cool.

Wow, I've had an iPhone 6S for months and didn't realize this existed. Maybe I should check the documentation, but this also highlights the discoverability problem of 3D Touch. I guess I need to get in the habit of trying to "3D Touch" all over the place to find new features?

bennyg 11y ago
Wow, same here. Nifty little feature.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

ino 11y ago

To the point that I get frustrated when I have to write on a phone without it. It's really nice to be able to move the cursor and select text so easily and fast. It feels like a hack.

etrautmann 11y ago

I couldn't agree more - this makes typing and correcting mistakes unbelievably easier.

Someone1234 11y ago

This is going a little off topic: But Microsoft's on-screen keyboard has the best trackpoint for doing that. Doesn't require 3D touch and works wonderfully. Looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/eX2bfHp.jpg https://i.imgur.com/eX2bfHp.jpg The blue dot is always there, but the four way arrows only appear after you press it, and you can drag further away to move faster, or closer to move slower. It is one of these things that after you use it you wonder why everyone hasn't copied it yet. Microsoft's keyboard is actually the best thing on Windows Mobile.

ohitsdom 11y ago
Apple's accessibility feature works the same way.
brianwawok 11y ago
> It is one of these things that after you use it you wonder why everyone hasn't copied it yet. Patents are very possible
- geon 11y ago
  Does IBM have a patent for the hardware version of it?
  - acveilleux 11y ago
    This is yet another invention from PARC that was marketed/finished outside of Xerox. The patent was initially filed in 1990 and granted in 1996. So it should have expired in 2013. It seems to be owned by Lexmark (which was owned by IBM.)
lewisl9029 11y ago
Wow. I wish something like this was available on Windows 10 for tablets/convertibles.
- Someone1234 11y ago
  Don't get me started on that. I still want gesture based typing (Swype) on the Surface Pro. The on screen keyboard is substantially worse on full Windows 10 than it is on Windows 10 Mobile, it makes no sense at all... What the heck Microsoft? Why is a keyboard on a 5" device better than a keyboard on a 10" one?
cmyr 11y ago
And I heard a while ago that Microsoft is working on bringing their keyboard to iOS. The 3rd party keyboard APIs on iOS are still awful, which would explain any delay/hesitance on their part. :(

wodenokoto 11y ago

Why didn't they just implement the two finger trackpad from the ipad?

JimDabell 11y ago
You can't use that gesture one-handed.
- wodenokoto 11y ago
  You have pinch to zoom all over ios, so that is obviously not the reason.
  - JimDabell 11y ago
    No you don't. Double tap also zooms.

baddox 11y ago

It's great when it works, but it's a shame that it barely works. There is clearly some state machine with lots of states that don't let you activate the trackpad.

geon 11y ago
It's really weird how you must wait a short moment after touching the keyboard until you can hard-press, or it will just ignore you. Then you let go, and now you accidentally typed a letter... would have worked better with a button on the keyboard that turns it into a trackpad.
- baddox 11y ago
  Yeah, it's much nicer on the iPad, where you just scroll with 2 fingers to use the trackpad feature.
glhaynes 11y ago
Much improved in my experience in iOS 9.3 that came out today. Thankfully, because it was infuriating before.

tedmiston 11y ago

^ This is also IMO the best use of 3D Touch. This video explains how to activate it for those who haven't used it before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpCPOSCu10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQpCPOSCu10 Edit: I wasn't aware of the double peek to select whole sentences. Cool.