News on the new iPhone

Apple’s September 9 event was jam-packed with cool new products and features, but the headliner of the the event was the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus launch. Here’s everything you need to know about the new iPhones.

Added news that the 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6S can be used to weigh objects –sadly, it’s only for jailbroken devices for now. Also added a table of contents.

3D Touch

Apple’s new 3D touch-enabled screen takes multitouch to the next level by adding a third dimension: pressure. It’s sort of like Force Touch on the Apple Watch, but with special features for the iPhone and different levels of pressure. Apple calls it “3D Touch.” A light press on the screen will bring up a preview of content, whether it be an image, a website, or an itinerary. If you keep pressing, you’ll enter the content you selected. It allows you to dip in and out of where you are without losing context. The background of the app you’re in blurs out a bit, so you can see a preview on top.

Related: iPhone 6S review

The feature can also apparently allow the iPhone to weigh objects. App developer Simon Gladman created an app that weighs plums called the Plum-O-Meter. It uses 3D Touch to weigh the plums and tell you which is heavier. The weighing function is not supported by Apple — Gladman had to jailbreak the device to make it work — however, it may be supported in the future.

According to Apple, you won’t have to jam down on the screen like you do on the Apple Watch; just a small bit of pressure can be registered on the screen, and the phone can tell the difference between mini taps and full taps. Capacitive sensors in the backlight portion of the display measure microscopic changes in distance between the glass and sensors. It also uses the accelerometer to determine pressure levels with more accuracy.

Apple showed off a demo of 3D Touch in action with Mail and iMessage apps. You can flick up from the bottom of the screen for actions like send, forward, etc. If the person you’re conversing with mentions a time, a flight plan, or other info, a light tap will bring up your calendar so you can check if you’re free, or show you the flight status.

3D Touch also works with apps on your home screen to bring up quick actions, so if you tap on the phone app, you’ll see your favorite contacts. You don’t have to actually enter the app to access features you use the most. If you tap on the camera, it’ll bring up “emergency selfie” mode. Of course, this mostly works with Apple apps, but some third-party apps will get the feature, including Dropbox, Facebook, WeChat, and Instagram.