Microsoft reconsidering 3D Touch Windows Phone
The 3D Touch works through a sensor array beneath the screen that measures microscopic changes in the distance of the LED backlights as the pressure from your finger increases. Rather than just being able to tap on an icon (or the screen) for a single action, 3D Touch allows for a whole new set of actions based on how much force is applied.
3D Touch is the name Apple has given to the force touch-like technology in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Microsoft turned its back on a Windows Phone flagship that would have debuted a 3D Touch-like feature before Apple launched it on the iPhone.
Microsoft was planning to introduce its own unique 3D Touch feature for Windows Phones back in 2014 but then decided to cancel the flagship and focus on the emergence of Windows 10 for mobiles.
Windows Central have been to get access to a McLaren prototype and it looks like a mix of Nokia's Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925. Leaks seen in the past have shown off a camera bump, and compared the device to an iPhone. The entire device has been reviewed by Windows Central, detailing its 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 5.5-inch full HD display, and the 20-megapixel camera and a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor with 2GB of RAM. The full metal jacket design may also have been a boon for smartphone fans toying with the idea of giving Windows Phone another shot.
With the 3D Touch features being the most interesting aspect of the McLaren. Some of those features also included the ability to answer calls by holding the phone to your ear, along with options to set the phone down on a table to enable speakerphone, or to hang up a call by placing it in your pocket.
The McLaren’s 3D Touch features, although buggy and incomplete, even seem superior to what Apple is currently offering within the iPhone 6S series. With the Microsoft McLaren's 3D Touch, it is possible to just hover over an app with a finger to reveal options (Kinect-like features). The multiple sensors within the display can track multiple fingers at a time and even know when users are gripping the phone.
Microsoft had been testing the device with a number of end users and developers, but the general feedback led the company to cancel it and put 3D Touch development on hold. While we'll never see the McLaren launch, it's possible Microsoft could develop and evolve its 3D Touch features for a future Windows-powered phone.
Source – The Verge
