The standout and exclusive feature of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is 3D Touch. An upcoming Jailbreak tweak called Touch 3D aims to somehow bring the feature to older iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch.
Apple officially launched its latest flagship smartphone and phablet at a press event on Sept. 9. The 4.7-inch iPhone 6s and 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus retain the same design as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but like all "S" moniker iPhones, the devices have some exclusive features that will make current and new iPhone customers want to upgrade.
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 3GS in June 2010, it was the first smartphone from the company to use the same exact design as its predecessor, the iPhone 3G. While its outward appearance didn't bring anything new to the table, internally, the handset received major upgrades. The iPhone 3GS featured a noticeably faster processor and double the RAM (256MB) of the iPhone 3G, which shipped with 128MB of RAM. It also finally brought video recording to an iPhone with its 3-megapixel rear camera, which captured VGA video at 30 fps (frames per second).
The iPhone 4s, released in October 2011, mirrored the design of the iPhone 4 but included internal upgrades and introduced the world to Apple's virtual assistant, Siri, which only ran on the iPhone 4s. The iPhone 5s, released in September 2013, set itself apart from the iPhone 5, and its most notable exclusive feature was Touch ID.
The launch of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus brings a faster A9 processor, double the RAM (2GB) of its predecessors, and its heavily hyped and exclusive standout feature is 3D Touch.
Apple describes 3D Touch as the "iPhone 6s [introducing] an entirely new way to interact with your phone. For the first time, iPhone senses how much pressure you apply to the display. In addition to familiar Multi‑Touch gestures like Tap, Swipe, and Pinch, 3D Touch introduces Peek and Pop. This brings a new dimension of functionality to the iPhone experience. And when you use 3D Touch, your iPhone responds with subtle taps. So not only will you see what a press can do—you'll feel it."
Apple's 3D Touch is possible through the use of new display hardware and software, which means older iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches can't take advantage of the new feature. All hope is not lost, though, as a popular iOS Jailbreak developer is working on recreating a similar feature for older iOS devices, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and iPad mini models.
The Jailbreak tweak is called "Touch 3D," and since Apple's implementation of the feature is hardware based, the Jailbreak tweak doesn't work exactly like the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus' implementation.
The tweak works by using a long tap-and-hold gesture on the display of older iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches to summon Quick Actions, which will allow users to perform a long tap-and-hold on an app and be presented with shortcuts, such as calling or messaging a favorite contact, getting directions home, or taking selfies, all without ever opening the app.
Check out the video below to see "Touch 3D" in action:
