Android N to bring ‘3D Touch’ pressure display features

As the Android N developer preview continues, we have been learning more and more about what to expect from Google's latest operating system. Last year, Apple introduced ‘3D Touch' with the iPhone 6S, a way of using a pressure sensitive display for different touch screen commands and now it looks like Android will support similar technology as well.

Use of this feature would depend on a OEM to OEM basis, as not every Android device maker will choose to use a pressure sensitive display but it could turn into a useful feature on Android N.

Pressure sensitive display support isn't officially confirmed at this point but Phandroid spotted some text describing ‘dynamic shortcuts' in an API. These shortcuts appear to be gesture-based according to Kevin Barry, the man behind the popular Nova launcher.

We may not see this feature in action for sure until Google unveils the next Nexus. However, a Nexus might not be the only smartphone to take advantage of this as Google is said to be setting up a new beta program, which will allow the company to push out its stock Android updates to third-party OEM devices itself.

KitGuru Says: I have tried out 3D Touch on the iPhone 6S and it is actually a pretty useful feature but given the open nature of Android, I imagine developers would find more ways to implement pressure sensitivity into various apps. 

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