Apple is removing the Force Touch support from watchOS 7, which means that a feature that has been in Apple Watch from the beginning will not make it to Apple Watch 6.
Where once a “firm, long press” on previous versions of watchOS would trigger additional options on the screen of an Apple Watch, this feature will no longer work on watchOS 7. It is unclear what Force Touch will replace, but it appears that Apple is suggesting that watchOS app developers discover a new way to replace Force Touch interactions with their apps.
“In watchOS 7 and later versions, system applications make previously hidden menu items accessible on a related screen or configuration screen,” Apple said in its updated Human Interface Guidelines. “If you previously supported a long-press gesture to open a hidden menu, consider relocating menu items elsewhere.”
For those of you who don’t know, Force Touch is the way Apple lets you press longer on everything from its MacBook Pro trackpads to iPhone displays to enable other interface options. The idea is that such interactions can avoid the need for multiple clicks and taps to access menus and functions of particular applications.
Force Touch was a feature on the first Apple Watch and has been around until the Apple Watch Series 5. It includes the Apple Watch Series 5. Given the limited screen space an Apple Watch has, using Force Touch to show additional features. It helped make Apple Watch and watchOS feel more intuitive.
But without Force Touch on watchOS 7, it would be safe to assume that the Apple Watch 6, which will launch this year alongside the iPhone 12, will not have Force Touch. Instead, you could have a whole new way of delivering controls, perhaps through a digital crown with many more built-in features, or perhaps improved gesture controls.
While the leaks and rumors we’ve seen so far about the Apple Watch 6 have indicated that it won’t be a dramatic departure from the current Apple Watch, there is an external possibility that a completely redesigned Apple Watch may be on the way.
A recent Apple patent suggested that an Apple Watch could be equipped with an optical sensor instead of the digital crown, which could open up new ways to control the smartwatch without Apple having to drastically change its overall design. However, we will have to wait until September before we have a clear idea of what the Apple Watch 6 will look like and how Apple will evolve its stellar smartwatch.
