Apple’s Force Touch Feature Will Significantly Enhance iPhone Experience, Per Analyst

Apple's flagship device, the iPhone, is going to undergo significant changes before 2015 ends, according to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities. And the biggest enhancement will be Force Touch, a new type of trackpad technology that Apple unveiled for its new 13 inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, as well as for its soon-to-be-released 12 inch MacBook.

What makes Force Touch so unique and groundbreaking is that it is sensitive to whatever pressure the user applies to the trackpad. In other words, it responds to how soft or how hard you press on the trackpad surface. 

This trackpad feature is already expected to be included in Apple's first ever wearable device, the Apple Watch, which is expected to hit stores on April 24th of this year (preorders start on April 10th). Moreover, this technology is also expected to be featured in Apple's next iPhone.

As explained by Kuo, Force Touch will be the most important enhancement to the interface of Apple's line of smartphones. The new trackpad technology will be so significant that Apple may be compelled to skip introducing an iPhone 6S in favor of unveiling an entirely new generation iPhone 7. 

The iPhone is Apple's most popular product, and its biggest source of revenues. This is never more illustrated in the last quarter of 2014 when sales of the Apple smartphone hit 74.5 million units, which helped the company set a world record in quarterly profits (to the tune of $18 billion) among publicly traded companies. 

Record sales numbers aside, continuing to push the envelope in terms of functionality and features would be an effective long term strategy for Apple. By consistently trying to advance the technology used in its mobile devices, Apple is putting itself in a good  position to be always a step ahead of its competitors, even as its rivals are also attempting to step up their games. Samsung is a perfect example, with the way it updated its approach to design and functionality with the introduction of its two newest flagship devices, the Galaxy S6 and its curvy sibling, the Galaxy S6 Edge.

With the addition of Force Touch, Apple would once again be offering something that other phone makers do not, or at least not for the time being. Having a trackpad technology that is pressure sensitive could literally be a game changer in the industry. It could change the way we operate our smartphones, launch and use mobile apps, and even the way we control and play games. Plus, the introduction of this new technology could spur third party developers to create new apps designed with pressure sensitivity capabilities in mind.