Apple exec describes the iPhone's coolest new feature as 'trying to read minds'
When Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the two new iPhones released today "changed everything," he was referring to the introduction of a new technology called "3D touch."
The screens on the new phones can recognize pressure, meaning that you can do different things depending on how hard you touch the screen. A press and a longer, deeper press will now have different effects than the usual tap.
This opens up a whole range of new shortcuts for Apple. For example, you could get directions home simply by long-pressing on the Maps app on your homescreen, quickly take a selfie by pressing on the camera app, or check your schedule on a given day by long-pressing the date in, say, an email.
The feature took many years to create, according to Bloomberg's Josh Tyrangiel.
It was extremely complicated technically and required Apple engineers to integrate new sensors into its iPhone screens that work with embedded accelerometers so it can continuously measure a users' finger pressure and try to figure out what they're trying to do.
"It starts with the idea that, on a device this thin, you want to detect force. I mean, you think you want to detect force, but really what you're trying to do is sense intent," Apple software engineering SVP Craig Federighi told Bloomberg. "You're trying to read minds."
You can get a sense of how complicated this thing really is by reading the rest of Federighi's explanation on the feature:
Read the rest of Bloomberg's piece here and watch Apple's video about 3D touch: