Apple upgrading Taptic Engine in 2019 'iPhone 11' for Haptic Touch

AppleInsider · July 23, 2019 3:16PM

Apple's 2019 iPhone refresh will feature a new Taptic Engine, a report claims, with the updated version potentially geared towards furthering Haptic Touch, a reworking of 3D Touch that is expected to replace the older touch feature across all of the new models.

An Apple presentation slide showing the Taptic Engine in an iPhone

The Taptic Engine has been a long-standing feature of the iPhone for a number of generations, replacing an older linear actuator system with one that provides a wide array of different levels of vibration power and sensations. Over time, the Taptic Engine has been able to provide tactile feedback to the user when performing actions, and even mimicked the sensation of motion when pressing the static home button.

For the 2019 iPhones, it is claimed Apple will be introducing an updated Taptic Engine, allegedly under the codename "Leap Haptics." It isn't clear what new functionality the new Taptic Engine will provide, but sources of 9to5Mac propose it could have alterations that would make it more useful for Haptic Touch.

The report seems to correlate with a supply chain story from July 9, where it was claimed Apple may "remove 3D Touch sensors from all 2019 iPhone devices." In theory, switching away from 3D Touch would save Apple from having to include pressure sensitivity in its iPhone displays, reducing the complexity and cost of production.

For the 2018 iPhones, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max included 3D Touch, which allowed quick action menus to appear on the display when an app's icon is pressed down with more force on the screen. The iPhone XR left off 3D Touch in favor of Haptic Touch, a version that used the length of time of a press to trigger alternate actions, but did not bring up the small menus in its first iteration.

If Apple is to remove 3D Touch from all of the 2019 iPhones, it seems logical that Haptic Touch would be its replacement.

simply258 · July 23, 2019 3:19PM

That’s good to hear, reduced cost of production will lead to reduced price of iPhone.

rayz2016 · July 23, 2019 4:17PM

simply258 said:

That’s good to hear, reduced cost of production will lead to reduced price of iPhone.

Thought no one ever.

cheesefreeze · July 23, 2019 4:28PM

Good riddance. I think their new direction will be more user friendly instead of having to deal with force as a user input variable.

appleexposed · July 23, 2019 5:24PM

I think a better version of 3D touch is coming not leaving completely like some sites suggest. It's silly, like saying FaceID is leaving for good.

I'd love to see Apple advance haptics and put them in everything from the Siri Remote to gaming controllers.

simply258 said:

That’s good to hear, reduced cost of production will lead to reduced price of iPhone.

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

gutengel · July 23, 2019 6:01PM

Apple is years ahead of competition when it comes to taptic engine, excited to see what they achieve with this new system. Imagine a gaming controller with this engine, delightful to play with.

gutengel · July 23, 2019 6:02PM

Apple is years ahead of competition when it comes to taptic engine, excited to see what they achieve with this new system. Imagine a gaming controller with this engine, delightful to play with.

elijahg · July 23, 2019 6:19PM

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

elijahg · July 23, 2019 6:23PM

3D touch is broken in iOS13 on my iPhone 6s, so I've turned it off and am using haptic touch instead. It's crap. False triggering half the time and looong delays while the haptic timer ticks away. App switching just isn't a thing. I much prefer 3D touch. That said, UI elements need some kind of indication that they're force touchable. At the moment you have to go around pushing hard on everything to see what does what, and then you forget as there's no reminder. A small, unique icon (similar to the live photo icon) would remind people so it gets used. IMO the best 3D touch feature is the keyboard trackpad. Press hard for trackpad, press again to being highlighting, again to finish. It's brilliant, and it'll be sorely missed if Apple does do away with 3D touch.

appleexposed · July 23, 2019 6:31PM

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

Yeah because iPhones haven't changed in YEARS!

/Meme

elijahg · July 23, 2019 6:48PM

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

Yeah because iPhones haven't changed in YEARS!

/Meme

What?

boogerman2000 · July 23, 2019 6:52PM

First Ive goes now 3D Touch I don’t think I want to know you anymore Tim c

appleexposed · July 23, 2019 7:20PM

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

Yeah because iPhones haven't changed in YEARS!

/Meme

What?

Following the "every iPhone is the same!" meme parroted by iKnockoff users (Remember iPhone 7?).

Truth is, every new feature is EXPENSIVE. Apple cutting costs means we get more features without affecting consumer price much. Something you seem to think is mythical.

Now if every iPhone were literally the same, Apple would be making a killing over the years of cutting costs. It's good if Apple profits go up but they aren't gonna find cheaper ways to get something good done and not improve hardware.

elijahg · July 23, 2019 7:45PM

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

Yeah because iPhones haven't changed in YEARS!

/Meme

What?

Following the "every iPhone is the same!" meme parroted by iKnockoff users (Remember iPhone 7?).

Truth is, every new feature is EXPENSIVE. Apple cutting costs means we get more features without affecting consumer price much. Something you seem to think is mythical.

Now if every iPhone were literally the same, Apple would be making a killing over the years of cutting costs. It's good if Apple profits go up but they aren't gonna find cheaper ways to get something good done and not improve hardware.

Not quite sure where I claimed that. There were new features between the 2G and the 6s too, but the price didn't change. The first iPhone was developed without compensation from previous models, and the price on that decreased by $150 after release. The price jump wouldn't have been such a shock if the increase incremental, or even a one-off for the X. But it seems Apple Cook has decided he can make more short-term profit from high prices but lower sales. If these features are so expensive, why is it Chinese phones are 25% of the price but have 75% of the features? Of course iOS is expensive to develop, but that doesn't account for 50% of the price. Even if it was 50%, that means $250 of the phone is down to FaceID, the A-series chip and the display.

Apple is bloated. They need to trim staff to regain the agility and efficiency they once had. Apple had about 20,000 staff when the iPhone was introduced. Now they have 132,000. Why? What do all those staff do? The R&D cost has ballooned similarly but with what result?

melgross · July 23, 2019 9:02PM

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

elijahg said:

AppleExposed said:

The customer price shouldn't be affected much but we as consumers still benefit as it gives Apple more room to add more features at a similar price.

The more $$ Apple can save, the more features we get without a price hike.

Unsurprisingly, you got that wrong. The more $$ Apple can save, the more profit they make without a price hike.

Yeah because iPhones haven't changed in YEARS!

/Meme

What?

Following the "every iPhone is the same!" meme parroted by iKnockoff users (Remember iPhone 7?).

Truth is, every new feature is EXPENSIVE. Apple cutting costs means we get more features without affecting consumer price much. Something you seem to think is mythical.

Now if every iPhone were literally the same, Apple would be making a killing over the years of cutting costs. It's good if Apple profits go up but they aren't gonna find cheaper ways to get something good done and not improve hardware.

Not quite sure where I claimed that. There were new features between the 2G and the 6s too, but the price didn't change. The first iPhone was developed without compensation from previous models, and the price on that decreased by $150 after release. The price jump wouldn't have been such a shock if the increase incremental, or even a one-off for the X. But it seems Apple Cook has decided he can make more short-term profit from high prices but lower sales. If these features are so expensive, why is it Chinese phones are 25% of the price but have 75% of the features? Of course iOS is expensive to develop, but that doesn't account for 50% of the price. Even if it was 50%, that means $250 of the phone is down to FaceID, the A-series chip and the display.

Apple is bloated. They need to trim staff to regain the agility and efficiency they once had. Apple had about 20,000 staff when the iPhone was introduced. Now they have 132,000. Why? What do all those staff do? The R&D cost has ballooned similarly but with what result?

???

fastasleep · July 23, 2019 9:35PM

elijahg said:

Apple is bloated. They need to trim staff to regain the agility and efficiency they once had. Apple had about 20,000 staff when the iPhone was introduced. Now they have 132,000. Why? What do all those staff do? The R&D cost has ballooned similarly but with what result?

Hahaha oh man, the armchair CEOs in these forums. You should email Cook, I’m sure he’d love to tell you how many employees he has sitting on their thumbs doing nothing all day long and need to be culled. Obviously Apple is the exact same company as it was 12 years ago and absolutely nothing has changed that would require more staffing. /eyeroll

mattinoz · July 23, 2019 11:13PM

I assume it's smaller sits into the gap between the connector and the corner better to allow the battery to slide down and make room for expanded camera module.

macgui · July 24, 2019 12:22AM

I don't anymore about the alleged upgrade than I did before reading the article.

Some of the 'upgraded' features may be applicable to the Watch. It's taptic engine could use a little love. I sometimes get missed alerts because I don't feel the taps. They could be a little stronger.

And on occasion, the engine just fails to fire. I thought it was me, so I set a timer on Alexa to alert me at 11min to the hour so I could wait for the Stand tap. And sometimes it didn't happen. I only did this when I knew I hadn't done a Stand sometime earlier. That could be a software issue but I haven't found a cure.

fastasleep · July 24, 2019 8:47AM

macgui said:

I don't anymore about the alleged upgrade than I did before reading the article.

Some of the 'upgraded' features may be applicable to the Watch. It's taptic engine could use a little love. I sometimes get missed alerts because I don't feel the taps. They could be a little stronger.

And on occasion, the engine just fails to fire. I thought it was me, so I set a timer on Alexa to alert me at 11min to the hour so I could wait for the Stand tap. And sometimes it didn't happen. I only did this when I knew I hadn't done a Stand sometime earlier. That could be a software issue but I haven't found a cure.

Have you tried switching from Default to Prominent under Sounds & Haptics?

[deleted user] · July 24, 2019 10:52AM

Wish Apple could go back to their original line-up concept. All these -r, -Max, Pro 10, 11, 12..., you name it, are stretching the iOS team thin besides obviously confusing the customer. One iPhone, two iPads, and no more three-year-old phones on sale as is the case with the 7. iOS was not meant to deal fragmentation. This could also boost the products’ desirability, so to speak, which has long been the staple of Apple’s well-being.

fastasleep · July 24, 2019 12:57PM

AlexMorello said:

Wish Apple could go back to their original line-up concept. All these -r, -Max, Pro 10, 11, 12..., you name it, are stretching the iOS team thin besides obviously confusing the customer. One iPhone, two iPads, and no more three-year-old phones on sale as is the case with the 7. iOS was not meant to deal fragmentation. This could also boost the products’ desirability, so to speak, which has long been the staple of Apple’s well-being.

That doesn't make any sense whatsoever when it's abundantly clear that different users want different devices, whether it comes to features or size or price.

Apple upgrading Taptic Engine in 2019 'iPhone 11' for Haptic Touch

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