Monday, June 20, 2016

How to Master 3D Touch

3D Touch is one of the most popular features to come around for iPhones recently. Available for the iPhone 6s, this innovative feature allows you to quickly perform quick tasks through apps without actually opening up the app. But mastering 3D Touch can take some getting used to. Here’s how you can successfully master 3D Touch without breaking a sweat.

The Basics

            Basically, 3D Touch relies on pressure to get things done. Specifically, the pressure of your fingers. Your iPhone can sense how much pressure you’re putting on the screen, allowing you to access certain features and menu items. Think of it as an intuitive right-click for your phone without actually right clicking on your screen.

Under Pressure

            Mail is one area where 3D Touch really shines. All you need to do is open up your mail app. Lightly tap on a message to get a quick preview for the message. If you want to go a little deeper and actually open up the message, just hold down your finger harder.
            This works for links in your email, texts, and on webpages. You can lightly tap on links to see a quick preview of a webpage, allowing you to see what a link’s all about without actually loading it up. To actually open the link, press harder.
            Pressure is the name of the game with 3D Touch. Press on addresses to get a quick peek at locations. Tap on photos to see a larger preview.

Quick Actions

            But where 3D Touch really comes in handy is through Quick Actions. Press on an app icon on your home screen to pull up Quick Actions. For example, tap on your Phone app. You should be given a list of quick options, including calling contacts you’ve listed as a favorite.
            You can do this with many, many apps on your phone. For example, you can tap your best spy cam app to quickly take a selfie or a photo.

Notes

            Since 3D Touch is all about pressure and allowing you to get things done with a cell phone monitoring app, you can actually use 3D Touch to take even better notes in your Notes app. With the ability to do everything from drawing pictures to making handwritten notes, you can actually vary your pressure to thicken lines with the track iPhone app. Just open up the Notes app, start a new note and get started.

Live Photos

            3D Touch comes with one especially neat feature: Live Photos. To take one, just open up your Camera app. Make sure that your shooting mode is set to Photos. You should see a yellow icon on the top or left side of the screen depending on whether your phone is in portrait or landscape mode. By activating Live Photos, you’ll basically be taking a quick 1.5 second video.
            With 3D Touch, you can turn on a Live Photo by lightly tapping on the photo, which will allow you to see the clip. This is great if you’re taking a photo and want to show an action or give your family and friends insight into the sounds and commotion going on when the photo was taken.
            For more fun, you can even set a Live Photo as your background and with a light tap on the lock screen, you can bring your background to life. This allows you to really make your phone shine.


            3D Touch, for those of us who have it, can be an intuitive, fun feature with a lot to offer. Just remember to experiment with pressure and light taps. From previewing links to taking live photos, anything is possible with 3D Touch.