Tech Reference

'Does my iPhone have 3D Touch?': A guide to the iPhone's touch-sensitive menu feature, for every iPhone that has it

Written by Dave Johnson edited by John Lynch
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Almost every iPhone released in the past few years has 3D Touch. Reuters
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3D Touch is a relatively new addition to the iPhone, and it gives you a whole new set of gestures for interacting with icons and information on the screen. 

Essentially, 3D Touch lets your iPhone respond differently depending upon how hard you press on the screen. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone X (From $899 at Best Buy)

iPhone XS (From $999 at Best Buy)

iPhone XS Max (From $1,099 at Best Buy)

Which iPhone models have 3D Touch

Apple introduced 3D Touch in 2015 for most new iPhone models starting with the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. But confusingly, not all iPhones released since then have 3D Touch. Here are the models that do come with the feature:

No iPhones prior to the iPhone 6S, nor the iPhone SE and iPhone XR, have 3D Touch. 

What 3D Touch actually does on an iPhone, and how to use it

3D Touch makes your iPhone pressure-sensitive, so it knows how hard you are pressing on the screen. In fact, 3D Touch has three distinct levels of sensitivity, and can perform three different actions depending upon how hard you press.

A normal, light press has the same effect it always has. You use a light tap to start apps and make selections in the same way as you are used to. 

A harder press is sort of like using the right mouse button on a desktop computer. It triggers an alternate action. Press harder on an app icon, and you may get a custom menu of common actions that you can trigger without starting the app. 

For example, 3D Touch the Clock app and you'll be able to create an alarm, use the stopwatch, or trigger the timer. Not all apps have 3D Touch support, so you'll need to experiment and see which of your apps respond to a harder press.

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3D Touch an app to get quick-access options, sort of like a right mouse click.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

3D Touch has a special action for previewing in the Messages and Mail apps, and this is where the hardest press comes into play. Press on a message to see a pop-up window display a preview of the message — Apple calls this a "peek." Press even harder (3D Touch's third sensitivity level) and the preview will "pop" open to take over the full screen. 

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Press a message or email with the medium level of pressure to "peek" at the contents without fully opening it.  Dave Johnson/Business Insider

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dave june
Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.