How to Use 3D Touch on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

3D Touch is one of the most notable new features on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. We’ll show you how to use 3D Touch on new iPhones, how to turn it off, and how to long press without accidentally activating 3D Touch on iPhone 6s.

The iPhone 6s screen can tell the difference between tapping, pressing, a deeper press, and a long press. It takes some getting used to, but once you know the difference between these types of touches, you will find yourself using 3D Touch all over your new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus.

3D Touch is on by default and you can start using it right out of the box without any setup. Apple offers options to change sensitivity or turn off 3D Touch, but there isn’t much customization you can do yet.

How to Use 3D Touch

Press further on the Messages icon on your home screen to start using 3D Touch. As you press it, you will feel a small vibration as it activates and the screen will open to show your recent messages.

This is the first step to using 3D touch. You can use it in many Apple apps, third-party apps, and Apple Apps. You can even use 3D Touch on the keyboard to activate a text selection tool.

Now let’s look at 3D Touch’s Peek and Pop options. Instead of a single action, you can now perform one action and then another, depending on the amount of pressure you put on the screen.

Open a message with a photo or link in it. Gently push the link until it pops up to fill part of the screen. From here you can swipe up to share, copy or perform another action.

You can also press a little more and that will open the link in Safari. You can use this deeper press to go to your Calendar app or Apple maps, it all depends on what you’re pressing.

If you press the left edge of your iPhone screen, you can swipe sideways to go back to an app or swipe gently to open App Switcher.

How to Long Press on iPhone 6s

Long press on iPhone 6s with 3D Touch can be difficult when you upgrade from an old iPhone.

Many users find that they actually put more pressure on the iPhone screen instead of using a long press. With 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s, you have to train yourself to tap and hold an icon without further effort. This will take some training, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to continuously long press instead of activating 3D Touch whenever you want to rearrange your home screen.

How to Change 3D Touch Settings

iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus allow you to turn off 3D Touch and change sensitivity. You can’t set other options such as which apps open with Peek and Pop, but if you’re having trouble using this feature, you should start here.

1. Tap Settings on your iPhone 6s.
2. Tap on General.
3. Tap on Accessibility.
4. Tap 3D Touch.

Here you can tap Off to Turn off 3D Touch if you don’t want to use it. You can change the sensitivity to work better based on how you use your iPhone.

Move the slider to Light or Hard and then you can practice to see if the new 3D Touch sensitivity is right for your touch. If neither option is easier to use, you can revert to Medium.

Many Apple apps support 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s from the home screen and within the app. Other apps like Twitter, Instagram, Dropbox and more use 3D Touch. You can test this by pressing different areas of the screen. If an app is not using 3D Touch on the home screen it will give a quick vibration and if you are in an app it will act like a long press if there is no 3D Touch support.

Check out these things you can do with your iPhone 6s using the slides below to familiarize yourself with the new features.