The next Apple device likely to receive the haptic feedback treatment will be the Magic Mouse.
Whether Apple calls it Force Touch or 3D Touch, the technology looks to be incorporated into more than just its computers and smartphones.
The first time the term "Force Touch" came into Apple's marketing lexicon was in the company's keynote for the MacBook and MacBook Pro's fancy new trackpads. Then when the iPhone came out, Apple flipped things around and basically called the same technology by another name: "3D Touch."
Now for the Magic Mouse, it seems Apple is sticking to the "Force Touch" branding as revealed by the recent patent granted to the company for a future Magic Mouse or Magic Mouse-like device that will be outfitted with force touch sensors.
Originally filed in the first quarter of 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office published its granting only now. In its filing, Apple describes a mouse-like contraption that uses one force sensor and moving portions connecting both the top and bottom portions of the device.
"A force sensing input device (such as a force sensing mouse) includes at least one force sensor and at least one top portion movably connected to at least one bottom portion," reads the patent description. "When a force is applied to the top portion, the top portion may exert pressure on the force sensor. The force sensor may obtain force data based upon the pressure."
It sounds quite technical, but as users, what we'll experience is simply the same kind of haptic feedback we've always felt when typing out touchscreen keyboards. In Apple's case, the technology will also allow users new ways to interact with a Mac.
In measuring varying levels of pressure, users could, for example, look up a definition of a word by first clicking and then continuing to click with a bit more pressure on the word itself (instead of a three-finger tap that OS X currently allows users to do when looking up a word). The same could also apply when attempting to preview a file.
Combined with the Mac's already intuitive Multi-Touch gestures, the addition of Force Touch should prove to be a productive addition to any Mac user's workflow. And, since it looks like the Magic Mouse is set to be Force Touch-enabled, it might be a safe bet to expect the Magic Trackpad to receive the same treatment in the future, too.
