iOS 11.1 beta 2 brings back 3D Touch app switching

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3D Touch app switching
Farewell, 3D Touch.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Good news! The iPhone’s 3D Touch app switching is back in the latest iOS 11 developer beta 2. Fans of this feature have been stuck in a hideous, home-button double-clicking limbo since iOS 11 launched, but now the ordeal is over.

iPhone 3D Touch app switching

During the iOS 11 beta period, one of the iPhone’s handiest gestures was removed by Apple’s developers. 3D Touch app-switching is a super fast way to switch between apps on your iPhone. Instead of having to double-tap the home button to enter the multitasking view, you can just press down on the left side of the screen and peel back the current app, pulling the previously-used app in from the side. If you pause part-way through, you can also access the “stacked cards” switcher than lets you browse older app sessions, and to force-quit apps. Here it is running, pre-iOS 11:

Now, in the just-released second developer beta of iOS 11.1, the switcher is back, along with a bunch of new emoji. It works exactly as before, and you can also keep double-tapping home to do the same thing, only slower.

Missing features

The other two most-expected features in iOS 11.1 are the return of the iMessage syncing feature that briefly appeared during the summer’s iOS 11 beta period, and the addition of Apple Pay Cash, a way for people to give each other money via iMessage. Neither of these has yet appeared in the iOS 11 betas. Both of these look like being great features, though, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that they won’t get pushed back to iOS 11.2.

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