Google to Delay Android Rival to iPhone’s 3D Touch

The highlight feature of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus released last fall was 3D Touch. Since then, rumors of major competitors like Samsung planning to implement a similar feature have received a good deal of attention. However, we still haven’t seen a public release, although the Galaxy Note 6 due out this fall is a prime candidate.

Google then became the next major company rumored to be working on a 3D Touch competitor. Of course, iOS and Android have “borrowed” ideas from one another for years, so the news wasn’t all that surprising. The feature first showed up as part of early developer builds of Android N. It was expected to debut in the first public release of Android N, but reports have recently surfaced indicating Google will delay its release. Instead, it will be added through a software update sometime in the future.

There are still expectations the feature will be put on display at Google I/O 2016, which is just around the corner. However, Android diehards should no longer expect to see it along with the public release of Android N later this year.

Of course there are a handful of Android phones that have already implemented their own versions of 3D Touch, including Huawei’s Mate S and ZTE’s Axon Mini. The major setback to this model is these proprietary systems require smartphone makers to convince developers to support the feature for the individual device. Sure, these devices have support for the feature in first-party apps, but it’s not enough to propel the feature into the mainstream.

Baking this feature directly into Android is noteworthy because it would allow other smartphone makers to take advantage of the feature by simply adding a touch sensitive display to a device. More importantly, developers would have more incentive to support the feature since it would be standard across a myriad of devices. This will be a simpler task than creating proprietary software to take advantage of specific touch sensitive displays. This means Google’s implementation has the potential to become even more widespread than 3D Touch.

That said, even Apple is struggling to convince more developers to support 3D Touch. It’s understandable since a majority of iPhones in the wild don’t support the feature. As time goes by and as more iPhones gain 3D Touch support, I have to assume the feature will become more conventional.

However, Apple opted to cut the feature from their budget-oriented iPhone SE earlier this year. Many have attempted to read the tea leaves and claim Apple is already backing away from the feature. I find it more realistic Apple simply made a few cuts to keep the iPhone SE’s price and size down. After all, the company is already rumored to be working on 3D Touch technology for the Apple Car.

What do you think about 3D Touch? If you have an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, do you find yourself regularly using the feature, or have you already forgotten about it? Let us know in the comments.