Popular messaging app Facebook Messenger may become even more popular among iOS users, thanks to its latest addition of 3D Touch support.
Although there are a slew of messaging apps currently available on the market, Facebook Messenger enjoys wide popularity worldwide and an impressive user base. The company keeps adding improvements to enhance the experience, especially since it can now handle your SMS messages as well, aiming to serve as a one-stop-shop for your conversations.
With the latest update, the iPhone version of Facebook Messenger now supports pressure-sensitive gestures on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.
The main Facebook app, as well as the Facebook-owned Instagram, have already been supporting 3D Touch, but Messenger only received it now.
The new functionality now allows iPhone 6s or 6s Plus owners to take advantage of 3D Touch on Facebook Messenger to preview contacts, photos, videos conversations, links, stickers and locations.
As a reminder, 3D Touch launched in the fall of 2015 with the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, quickly becoming one of the highlight features of the new flagships. The technology makes use of a pressure-sensitive display to perform different actions based on how the users press on the screen.
The 3D Touch feature allowed users to "peep" and "pop" on a link, a photo or something else without actually opening it. It received mixed reactions, however, and developers were not as eager to maximize 3D Touch as Apple might have hoped.
While a growing number of apps have added 3D Touch support, progress has been rather slow. Nevertheless, Facebook Messenger is now the latest app to gain the functionality, joining the likes of Twitter, Dropbox, WeChat, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram.
A faster pace is expected once iOS 10 comes out, however, as 3D Touch will be playing a more prominent role. Lock screen notifications will get bigger and more interactive, and 3D Touch will likely prove more useful. In turn, developers should become more interested in the functionality and add support to more apps.
The updated Facebook Messenger for iOS is now available in the App Store as Messenger version 79.0. Keep in mind that 3D Touch works only on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, as previous iPhone models do not have such functionality.
If you've already downloaded the update and tried it out, drop by our comments section below and tell us what you think of it. Does 3D Touch work as well as you expected?
