Apple would like to incorporate pressure-sensitive technology into all its products, like 3D Touch on the iPhone, Force Touch on the Apple Watch, and Force Click on Mac trackpads. But it looks like this technology will be missing from the iPad Air 3 coming out sometime in 2016.
According to MacRumors, this new iPad Air 3 model will be released in the first half of the year, but it will be missing the 3D Touch feature. Why not? MacRumors quoted “production issues within Apple’s supply chain.” The report is based on a research note by KGI Securities analysts.
3D Touch, however, is a no-brainer to appear in the forthcoming iPhone 7. Likely to be released in September, the iPhone 7 will incorporate 3D Touch in a very similar fashion as the current iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Watch the video below to see how 3D Touch works on the iPhone 6s.
As for the iPad Air 3, MacRumors speculates that Apple could introduce the new device at the company’s spring event, possibly in March. Also rumored to be on the agenda at this event are the unveiling of a budget-friendly 4-inch iPhone and a second-generation Apple Watch. The 4-inch iPhone is rumored to not have 3D Touch, either.
Why this matters: 3D Touch has been heralded as a cornerstone feature of the iPhone 6s lineup, one of the key differentiators from the previous very similar-looking iPhone 6. 3D Touch allows you to perform shortcuts when you deep-press on the iPhone screen. On the home screen, 3D Touch surfaces Quick Action whenever you deep-press on a supported app icon. Once inside a 3D Touch-supported app, you can deep-press to Peek and Pop content like photos, emails, and links. The feature isn’t a total game-changer, but it is nice to have, especially as more and more apps add support.
Previously, Apple announced the iPad Air 2 in October 2014, and the iPad Pro and iPad mini 4 in September 2015.
Author: Oscar Raymundo, Staff Writer
Oscar writes about iOS, mobile culture and digital music. He also hosts 'The iPhone Show' from Macworld's San Francisco HQ.