You may not be aware of it, but the iPhone and Apple Watch vibrate in a special way. With the Taptic Engine in these products, Apple can accurately produce vibrations.
Apple’s Taptic Engine is a vibration engine that is designed to give a haptic feedback to users of Apple devices. This is not only present in the iPhone and Apple Watch, but also in the trackpad of a MacBook and the Magic Trackpad is a kind of Taptic Engine.
Taptic Engine from Apple
Apple’s Taptic Engine is a vibration engine that is designed to give a haptic feedback to users of Apple devices. In contrast to traditional vibration engines that only produce vibrations, the Taptic Engine can produce targeted, pulsed vibrations that are specifically tailored to certain actions and interactions on the device.
The Taptic Engine was first introduced in the Apple Watch and is now also used in other Apple products, including iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Function of the vibration motor
The Taptic Engine is used for various tasks, such as giving haptic feedback when typing on a virtual keyboard, simulating the feeling of pressing a physical button, or giving instructions for navigation while using apps.
The use of the Taptic Engine can improve the user experience of Apple devices by adding an extra layer of interaction and feedback that mimics the feeling of real physical contact.
You cannot press home button and trackpad
If you are in possession of an iPhone 7, 8, SE 2nd generation or newer, you will experience the Taptic Engine daily. You cannot press the home button of this device, turn off your phone and try pressing the button. You will find that this is not possible. This is also the case for the Magic Trackpad and the MacBook Air and Pros in recent years, you can’t press these either.
The buttons and track pads are solid, but are (when enabled) pressure sensitive. They register pressure and thanks to the vibration motor in the device you can feel a haptic feedback when pressing. It is even possible to adjust the feedback from the home button or the trackpad (Force Touch).
Haptic Touch
The iPhone 6s, 7, 8, X and XS all have a pressure -sensitive screen with 3D Touch. To save costs and space, Apple has searched for an alternative for the iPhone XR and the subsequent generations. Haptic Touch ensures that you can perform 3D Touch promotions without having a pressure-sensitive screen.
iOS looks at how long you press on the screen and then simulates the linked action. As soon as Haptic Touch is activated, you will feel a vibration thanks to the Taptic Engine and it looks like you press a button.
Feelible signal with system changes
Apple not only uses the advanced vibration motor to simulate the pressing of the screen or button, but also to play tangible signals. The Taptic Engine in the iPhone is able to give small soft vibrations (taps) when, for example, you change the switches in settings.
You also get a tangible signal, for example: opening the message center and control panel, changing mail, arranging content, opening tabs in apps and more. In this way it is even clearer that a change has taken place.
Force Touch Apple Watch
The Taptic Engine was the first to be introduced in the Apple Watch. This was a crucial part for Force Touch. This makes it possible to perform extra interactions and functions by pressing hard on the screen. The technology behind Force Touch uses sensors in the Apple Watch to detect when the user presses harder on the screen than normal.
When Force Touch is used, the user can open extra options that would otherwise not be available, such as changing the dial of the Apple Watch or opening a menu to make shortcuts to commonly used apps.
When using Force Touch, the Taptic Engine is activated and is given feedback with the help of a little feedback. In this way, clicking on a trackpad for Mac is also simulated.