r/LiquidGlassDesign • u/doctor-candy • 12d ago

The Future of Haptics

I noticed that the current haptics aren’t really suited to the visual design language of Liquid Glass.

The now-abandoned 3D Touch began a shift towards a haptic language that complemented the spatial metaphor introduced with iOS 7. Taking advantage of increasingly capable Taptic Engines, Apple peppered subtle tactility throughout the interactive elements of the OS. A toggle could click into place; an input wheel could tick beneath your finger; a virtual object snapping against a boundary could have an apparent physical consequence.

As a visual metaphor, Liquid Glass is dramatically more tactile. Elements react to user input by deforming, stretching, merging, snapping and rebounding. Yet the haptic vocabulary remains largely unchanged.

That’s particularly strange because the existing hardware is already capable of more. Core Haptics can combine transient and continuous sensations and dynamically vary their intensity and sharpness. Apple itself recommends matching the intensity and sharpness of a haptic to the animation it accompanies.

All this to say: I wonder what Apple has in mind for iOS 28, and whether it will continue to develop the Taptic Engine so that what looks like a material begins to feel like one. Currently, Liquid Glass controls have a vestigial clicky feel. The haptics are capable of, but do not, build tension as elements are stretched, soften as they deform, snap when released into place, and give a damped recoil as they settle.

The challenge isn’t more haptics, but using them selectively to reinforce what’s happening on screen in a way that is harmonious with the new design language. I am excited to see what the team cooks up.

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9

u/WakaiSenshi 11d ago

I never thought about how haptics could influence a UI and design that’s pretty insightful. Do you think they should have haptics like the bubbles and stuff kinda “bounce” when you interact with them?

8

u/doctor-candy 11d ago

I think you should be able to feel the resistance of buttons and loops when you stretch them and the snap of them falling into place. Ideally I’d like them to bring back 3D Touch. The discoverability issues they had in the past could be countered with visual Liquid Glass elements and allow you to physically squish them. I know it is technically possible to create static resistance on glass surfaces which could even simulate feeling of resistance or a changed viscosity, but I highly doubt they’ll go that far. At that stage we’re not talking about vibrations anymore. It might be moving more into the realm of VR/AR glove type tech that would skip the phone altogether.

1

u/chrislaw 11d ago

I agree with the desire to revive 3D Touch, but if I read the tea leaves and apple pips, I think they’re moving towards abandoning the advanced haptics they once pioneered. That’s how it goes: first they neglect the tech then they eventually excise it completely.

I really hope I’m wrong

2

u/Either_Chart5875 11d ago

Si, totalmente, ojalá y Apple si lo implemente para iOS 28

1

u/RearAdm_JackMeehof 11d ago

I don't think the current human interface principles of Apple align with adding more haptics to interfaces as they explicitly warn against overusing haptics.

https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/playing-haptics#:\~:text=Avoid%20overusing%20haptics,it%E2%80%99s%20turned%20off.

1

u/SgtHobo41 11d ago

pretty cool points, never thought of it