Android users no longer have to feel like they are missing out on one of Apple's iPhone 6s' most convenient (and cool) features known as 3D Touch. Instagram for Android just rolled out a new feature that copies the pressure-sensitive touchscreen capability.
3D Touch is the new iPhone feature that senses how much pressure is applied to the display. It allows the user to perform quick actions, such as taking a selfie just by pressing on the camera app from the home screen without having to actually open the app.
This iOS feature also allows users to "Peek and Pop," or preview content, such as photos, so that they can get a quick look at their images and press deeper to open one they wish to edit and share.
Then, of course, there is the Live Photos feature that brings images to life by pressing down on an image to have it move.
However, now, Android users will also be able to peek at images when searching, simply by pressing deeper on the photo.
The ability to use the 3D Touch knock-off is part of the latest update to the Android Instagram app.
Of course, Android devices are not equipped with pressure-sensitive screens, but users will be able to activate the feature by pressing long on an image while in the app.
The feature is best used when searching for a hashtag or looking at a user's profile that displays the images in a grid-like form. Android users will now be able to firmly press on a thumbnail to get a closer peek at photo without having to actually bring the image up full-screen. Instead, the image pops up in the foreground of the app while the page the user is on stays blurred out in the background.
In order to copy Apple's iOS feature, the app uses haptic feedback, which allows users to like or share an image after it pops up with a long press without having to lift their finger.
When the user is done peeking at the photo, they can simply drag their thumb away away from image so that it can shrink back to its thumbnail size.
The new pressure-sensitive touch feature for previewing Instagram images is rolling out as part of the version 7.13.0 update of the app for Android on the Google Play Store, and it is also available to download at APK Mirror.
Source: Android Police
