3D Touch brings a whole new dimension of interaction to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. Yes, you can use 3D Touch to interact with app icons on the home screen and inside apps that have been updated to support the feature, but did you know you can also use it in some really useful ways when dealing with text system-wide in iOS? Here are two quick tips for using 3D Touch on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus for selecting text.
1. Use 3D Touch to turn your keyboard into a trackpad. When composing an iMessage, writing a note in the Notes app, or typing a URL into the address bar in Safari, you can use 3D Touch to turn your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus’ keyboard into a trackpad. Simply press firmly anywhere on the keyboard and the keys will turn grey to indicate that the feature has been activated. Once the keyboard turns grey and the trackpad feature is active, simply move your finger around the screen to move your cursor around a block of editable text. This is very similar to the iOS 9 feature that allows iPad keyboards to be turned into trackpads by using two fingers and dragging, but is much easier because it lets you use one hand to activate the feature on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus. Give it a try!
2. Use 3D Touch to select a block of text. When you want to highlight a block of text in Safari or another app, simply tap and hold to select a word like normal and then, without lifting your finger, press harder to invoke 3D Touch. After this, you can simply drag your finger along the screen without lifting it to select more text. This saves an extra tap and makes the experience of selecting a block of text on your iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus much more seamless. This can be a little tricky the first couple of times you try it, but give it a shot! Once you get used to it, you won’t go back!
3D Touch on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is an incredibly useful feature and is such a pleasure to use that I feel like I’ll be nearly crippled from now on when using iOS devices that don’t support the feature! What’s your favorite 3D Touch feature? Share it in the comments section below!
