In 2007, the initial iPhone was released. Since then, Apple has maintained the rhythm of launching new products every year. By the 2014 generation, the iPhone 6 was introduced. The larger screen size is a change that each user can see, but some changes have occurred where the user does not see it. Immersion's engineers told Lei Fengnet (search for "Lei Feng Net" public concern) that the iPhone 6 uses a "linear vibration motor", which is much larger and more expensive. The previous iPhone 5s used a rotary vibratory motor used in ordinary mobile phones, which was much cheaper and took up less space. What is even more surprising is that Apple did not do anything special for this new type of vibrating component and did not advertise anything.
The Apple Watch, which debuted with the iPhone 6 at the same time, demonstrated a technology known as Force Touch - you can activate more software setup options by pressing hard on the watch's screen. Force Touch as an interactive method, in addition to the pressure-sensitive screen, it also requires the dynamic UI of the software, and the watch to make "tactile feedback" on the pressure. Parts that provide "haptic feedback" on the Apple Watch are called Taptic Engine - Taptic Engine will "spark" the watch when the screen is pressed hard, prompting the user to press it in place.
It sounds simple, but no cell phone will vibrate. However, if you open the Apple Watch back cover, you may be shocked by the space occupied by this Taptic Engine module. When Apple released this watch, 18 hours of battery life became the largest slot. If the Taptic Engine takes a little more space than the battery, it may be another sight. But Apple did not do this, obviously, it thinks Taptic Engine is more important than battery life.
In the first critically-tested article of Apple Watch, each tech media editor mentioned that this watch is very different from the "feeling." They said that when the watch receives a new message, it will "spark" it, it feels like someone tapped your wrist. In short, it is an unspeakable experience that has never been spoken before. Apple said that this is the most personal device they have ever made. Because users are used for a long time, they want to create a feeling that people feel that their equipment tied to their wrists is not a cold electronic product, and will not easily bother users.
The mission of Taptic Engine is to create such an experience. When the new news comes, the watch will feel “vibrate†for you to feel, but it’s not the kind of “vibration†method that is inexpensive and can be felt by other people (this is also the reason why people don’t like mobile phone owners who call vibrating alerts). ).
From watch to computer, mobile phone
In early 2015, Apple's spring conference, 12-inch MacBook debut. This future-oriented laptop has a lot of highlights. The touch panel introduced Force Touch technology, which is no longer the same as previous laptops. Because it is a physical button structure, the part near the keyboard cannot be pressed, but instead the entire panel can be “pressed†while using the Taptic Engine as The user provides tactile feedback of different actions such as "click" and "press hard". The new generation of MacBook Pro laptops updated this time also use this new technology.
In September 2015, iPhone 6s began supporting Force Touch pressure screen technology. A month later, the new Mac computer accessories Magic Trackpad touchpad, joined Force Touch support.
In September 2016, the just-released iPhone 7 home button (Home button) also failed to pass, giving up the mechanical structure and using tactile feedback to simulate the pressable feeling.
Comparing the Taptic Engine parts on the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 7, you can see that the volume increase trend is obvious. The role played is getting bigger and bigger and more and more important. Technically, the linear vibration motor used by the Taptic Engine is different from the vibration motor on a general mobile phone (including the iPhone 5s and the previous Apple mobile phone).
Thanks to tactile feedback from Taptic Engine. Apple Watch and iPhone screens that you couldn't press before can be pressed; you can't press the computer touchpad and the phone Home button that you can press before.
Previously, people generally referred to the tactile feedback of mobile phones as "vibration." Now people are beginning to "feel" the magic of tactile feedback - and can even replace physical buttons. From a certain point of view, this change is like from black-and-white TV to color television, from silent movies to audio films...
Need to "tune" touch
No one has ever felt that making mobile phones "vibrate" - providing tactile feedback, is a high-tech job. If you take the camera's camera function as an analogy, people may understand the difficulty of this technology. Actually, many mobile phones use the same image sensor from Sony as the iPhone, but the photos taken depend on the level of "tweaking" of the cameras of various vendors, that is, software algorithms. The same is true for tactile feedback. Even with the same type of vibration motor, it is difficult to achieve the same tactile experience. It also requires “tune-up†and requires a difficult algorithm.
The Immersion company that was just mentioned at the beginning of the article did the job. The company was founded in 1993 and has so far used 3 billion units of various electronic products to adopt their tactile feedback technology. In addition to major mobile phone manufacturers, partners also include haptic feedback technology on Sony PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox game controller. At the end of August, the company held a media meeting in the country. Its CEO, Victor Viegas, described one way they developed haptic feedback technology:
The Immersion engineers arranged 19 microphones on the circuit of the motorcycle race, recorded the sound of the motorcycle when it was opened to the 19 positions, and then simulated a tactile sensation according to the algorithm obtained from the data of the tracks. When the user is holding a mobile phone or wearing a wearable device to watch the game, this tactile sensation will make the user feel that the motorcycle is over.
Immersion's goal is to allow more mobile phone manufacturers and game makers to use their tactile feedback technology. Although ordinary vibration motors can also achieve better tactile feedback experience through their algorithms. But they also understand that Immersion's algorithm can play a bigger role if there is a more upscale vibration motor.
At the event, Immersion showed a modified domestic Android phone. They replaced the ordinary vibration motor with a rectangular linear vibration motor. In the interactive interface of the game and some daily software, the tactile feedback provided by the modified mobile phone immediately became real.
Meizu is also a partner of this company. Meizu’s new Pro 6 phone uses a pressure-sensitive screen and features the “3D Press†feature similar to the Force Touch on the iPhone. However, Meizu did not use a special linear vibration motor, but continued the vibration of small motors on ordinary mobile phones. It is precisely because of this, this feature gives people a feeling worse than the iPhone.
As early as 2013, Immersion partnered with Fujitsu to launch the Raku-Raku Smartphone. For the elderly user market, the phone uses a touch-sensitive touch screen that can provide different levels of tactile feedback, "let users feel like pressing the real button."
Apple innovation
In fact, tactile feedback is not a new technology. Apple made this technology even more compelling because it found the best scenarios and best practices for using this technology. From pressure screens and notification reminders on Apple Watch to the revolution of the MacBook laptop's touchpad to the iPhone's pressure screen, the ultimate extension of the technology to the iPhone's Home button is entrusted with the task.
This is a typical Apple innovation. It is often not the earliest, but it is the best use of a technology. People will only see the moment when Apple created magic and would not think of a long and lonely development cycle.
It is almost imaginable that other manufacturers will soon follow this technology. Immersion will usher in a better era. However, it is almost certain that other manufacturers will still need several years to catch up with Apple’s current experience.
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