Android hack steals 3D Touch from iPhone
Apple shaked the smartphone world by introducing 3D Touch feature to iOS 9. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus which sport Apple’s 3D Touch have already been proclaimed a hit by market readers. Now, a Android hacker has stolen the idea from Apple and brought the 3D Touch to Android smartphones.
Android hacker, Marco Chiapetta used a Sony Xperia Z3 to duplicate the feature on Android. The Xperia Z3 doesn’t have such a display, but housed within its waterproof body is a barometer, which Marco skillfully used to make a 3D Touch for Android.
Marco discovered that the Xperia Z3 sensor can also be used to measure small changes in the air pressure within the phone itself. The Sony Xperia Z3 is built with a waterproof casing, and pressing down on the touchscreen display produces a measurable difference in the air pressure within the phone. The barometer readings can then be translated into light presses or hard presses, mimicking the 3D Touch feature that, until now, was only possible on an iOS device.
Marco’s hack is a cool utilization of existing technology and could open the door to a lot of added functionality, but there’s a catch. Since most Android phones don’t feature the unique combination of a barometer and watertight construction, such a tweak would only work for a small number of Android phones, and even then, it would likely require calibration for each individual device.
