Apple's 3D Touch has been rumored to be coming to Android devices and a recent video demonstration has given these speculations more ground.
Previously, reports have taken notice of the "Launcher shortcuts" listed in Android N's second developer preview. Theories suggest that these could be Android's own version of Apple's 3D Touch utilized by the latter's own devices such as the iPhone 6s.
"Launcher shortcuts," or what Google reportedly identifies as Android's own version of Apple's 3D Touch, gives developers the ability to finally specify shortcuts for their apps which users can access to "perform actions quicker."
These shortcuts, detailed in the preview, bring the user to "specific points" in the app to make activities like sending messages, viewing maps, or playing TV episodes readily accessible through the launcher. This entails that users do not have to click through an assortment of windows just to get to the specific content or command they desire, very much like how 3D Touch on Apple devices operates.
The preview also lists two commands that developers would use to enable such features on their apps. "Launchers can be expected to show 3-5 shortcuts for a given app," it adds.
In the video demonstration, Nova Launcher maker, Kevin Barry, has successfully integrated the commands with the help of Steve Albright and his Weather app.
The video shows how "Launcher Shortcuts" could supposedly work which in this case uses a swipe down method to display shortcuts to dates on the weather app.
Reports suggest that more intuitive and efficient methods could be implemented by either original equipment manufacturers (OEM) or third party developers depending on the Android device's support for the added feature. Most likely, devices with pressure-sensitive displays like the Huawei Mate S can handle more gesture specific commands or "Force Touch".
While official announcements are yet to be made by Google in the upcoming I/O Developer Conference – including the much-awaited official name of the feature because really, we can't keep referring to it as "Android's own version of Apple's 3D Touch" – the company has confirmed in an interview that this is, you guessed it, Android's own version of Apple's 3D Touch.
The video demonstration can be viewed below:
