iPhone 6S reportedly features an upgraded version of Force Touch

iPhone 6 Plus
Is a new Force Touch on the way.

We've barely had time to get used to the original version of Force Touch and already there's an upgrade on the way. 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman - usually spot on with Apple rumours - thinks the next generation "3D Touch" is going to make its debut with the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus next week.

That means your brand new iPhone will know the difference between a tap, a press, and (the new one) a deeper press. As a result, developers can add all kinds of extra menus and options to save you some time in the OS.

For example, you could '3D Touch' a song to add it to a playlist or '3D Touch' an app icon on the Home screen to jump into a specific part of it. Apps could use it in the same way as right-click or a double-click on a computer.

Touching base

It's going to be particularly useful for games developers - though ensuring compatibility with older iOS hardware (without Force Touch) at the same time as supporting the newer handsets would be something of a challenge.

Considering Huawei now has its own version of Force Touch on some models of the Mate S, Apple will be eager to stay ahead of the pack. The new tech might also help the iPhone 6S avoid being overshadowed by the iPad Pro and the Apple TV 2.0 next Wednesday.

This is all still speculation until 9 September of course. Another rumour tidbit to emerge over the weekend from AppleInsider suggests the new iPhones are going to come with extra microphones to make calls that little bit clearer.

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.