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100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now

Oct 1, 2015 09:19 PM
Dec 15, 2015 09:03 PM
Person using a smartphone to navigate a mobile app menu.

3D Touch is a new feature on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus that's reinventing the way we interact with our smartphones. With just a little bit of added pressure when tapping on the display, you can perform Quick Actions from an app's home screen icon, "Peek" at emails, stories, and photos in-app, as well as perform other app-specific gestures. Since 3D Touch is such a new concept, here are some of the apps that currently support it, along with the shortcuts you can use.

Adjusting 3D Touch

Before getting to the apps, let's go over the 3D Touch preferences so you can learn how to adjust the sensitivity or toggle it off. Start by navigating to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> 3D Touch. At the top of the page, you have a toggle that allows you to disable 3D Touch.

3D Touch settings description with on/off toggle.

By using the slider underneath the toggle, you can adjust the sensitivity of 3D Touch. Personally, I feel that a light sensitivity makes for faster interaction with the gesture, but if you have heavy thumbs, you can always make it firm to avoid accidental 3D Touch actions.

3D Touch sensitivity settings: Light, Medium, Firm adjustment slider.

Stock Applications

While a good number of third-party apps support 3D Touch, here are the stock iOS 9 apps that utilize it straight out of the box, as well as the Quick Actions you can perform.

  • App Store - Redeem, Search
  • Calendar - Add Event
  • Camera - Take Photo, Record Slo-mo, Record Video, Take Selfie
  • Clock - Create Alarm, Start Stopwatch, Start Timer
  • Contacts - Create New Contact, Show My Info
  • Find Friends - Share My Location
  • Game Center - Send Friend Request
  • iBooks - View TOC, Notes, and Bookmarks, Search iBooks Store
  • Mail - Inbox, VIP, Search, New Message
  • Maps - Directions Home, Mark My Location, Send My Location, Search Nearby
  • Messages - New Message, jump into thread
  • News - For You, Sources you follow
  • Notes - New Note, New Photo, New Sketch
  • Phone - Favorites, Create New Contact
  • Photos - Most Recent, Favorites, Search
  • Reminders - New in Reminders, New in To-Do's
  • Safari - Show Reading List, Show Bookmarks, New Private Tab, New Tab
  • Wallet - Add Card
Smartphone home screen with messaging app options.
Camera options menu on a smartphone screen.
App options menu with options for creating a new note, photo, or bookmark.
Smartphone home screen with messaging app options.
Camera options menu on a smartphone screen.
App options menu with options for creating a new note, photo, or bookmark.

In addition to app icon Quick Actions, there are other 3D Touch gestures to discover within the apps themselves, like pressing on hyperlinks in Messages to preview the webpage.

My Favorite Third-Party Applications

Although not every third-party app has 3D Touch support (yet), there are a handful of popular ones that do, and others that you may want to try out today. Here are some of my current favorites.

Instagram allows you to perform your favorite actions, like create a new post, view activity, search, or send a direct message, by just pressing its icon. Within the app, you can preview a user by pressing on their profile name, and you can like, comment, or send a message by pressing on an image in the grid view of somebody's profile.

Instagram app interface with options for creating a new post, viewing activity, speech, and exit.
100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now
100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now
Instagram app interface with options for creating a new post, viewing activity, speech, and exit.
100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now
100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now

This game is essentially Guitar Hero for piano and uses 3D Touch to add accents on particular notes. For example, if you really want a certain chord to sound profound, you'd press a little harder on your display. This is a glimpse into what we can expect for the future of 3D Touch and gaming.

Colorful animated graphics with circles and glowing effects on a dark background.

Using the app's icon, you can quickly access your favorite restaurants. When scrolling through restaurants, use 3D Touch on a listing to show the location on a map and quickly select a reservation.

100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now
Map showing location and schedule for Upper West restaurant in Danville, CA.
100+ Apps You Can Use 3D Touch on Right Now
Map showing location and schedule for Upper West restaurant in Danville, CA.

Additional Third-Party Apps

There are other apps in the iOS App Store that provide 3D Touch abilities. Here's a list of some of those, along with some highlighted Quick Actions and/or in-app gestures.

For a full list of 3D Touch-compatible apps, you can see them all directly in iTunes on your computer or iPhone. If we missed any of your favorites apps with 3D Touch capabilities, let us know in the comment section below and we'll add it to the list.

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The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.

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