Apple starts production on its Force Touch iPhone 6S

The iPhone 6 Plus
The successor to the iPhone 6 Plus should have Force Touch.

A new report from Bloomberg backs up the rumours we've been hearing about Force Touch coming to the iPhone. "People with knowledge of the matter" say production has already started on this year's handsets.

For the Force Touch newbies, it's a pressure-sensing technology that reacts to the lightness (or otherwise) of a touch on a display. It can already be found on the Apple Watch and the new MacBook.

Bloomberg's sources say the new pair of phones are going to keep last year's designs as well as the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch sizes. They might get a little bit thicker but that's about it as far as looks go.

By the numbers

It's by no means certain that the new iPhones will have the 6S moniker - Apple could jump up to the iPhone 7 with its naming system, but we are expecting minor upgrades for the 2015 refresh.

Apple usually announces new iPhones in September and we're expect the same this year. As Bloomberg notes, handset availability will depend on how quickly Apple can churn out the new Force Touch screens.

It's one feature to look forward to when the iPhone 6S/7 rolls round later this year. We're anticipating a few bumps to the processor speed and memory capacity, and of course the arrival of iOS 9.

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.