'3D Touch' reportedly on its way to plenty more Android phones

3D Touch on an iPhone
3D Touch is coming...

From VR headsets to 3D Touch, when one phone maker happens upon an innovative new idea, it's usually the case that everyone else then rushes to keep up with a version of their own.

The pressure-sensitive displays are one of the key new features on this year's iPhones, allowing you to press harder on the screen to access extra functions, and we've already seen the tech mimicked on the likes of the Huawei Mate S.

According to GizmoChina, the main Android phone makers from China are all rushing to join the party too: Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo and Vivo all have some version of the technology in the pipeline, inside sources say.

Just a touch

The report also hints that the Nexus phone HTC is supposedly building for Google this year will also get a pressure-sensitive display: it's just a rumour for now but it's one that makes sense.

We know that "variable force sensing" technology is already available to phone manufacturers if they want it - it's now just a question of how quickly they can get it added to their handsets for a reasonable cost.

And while we didn't see any 3D Touch-style features on the new Samsung Galaxy S7 or LG G5, if the major Chinese firms were to add the technology, then the big players in South Korea would be likely to follow suit.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.