14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s new pressure-sensitive display technology called 3D Touch is certainly very innovative, and as we explained in our iPhone 6s Plus review, it’s a very neat way to access specific features of the apps more easily, but it turns out that it can serve many more purposes than a touch-based right click.
App developers have looked into 3D Touch and discovered that it can actually help build digital scale apps that would help calculate the weight of different objects when they are placed on the display of the iPhone.
Ryan McLeod is the developer of such an app, and while the evidence that he provided confirms that it’s incredibly accurate (a 1 to 3-gram accuracy error does exist, however), it appears that Apple has, in fact, decided not to allow it in the store.
A reason hasn’t been provided though, but in a lengthy blog post (via 9to5mac) published by McLeod, where he explains how his apps works and how it calculates the weight of different objects, the developer speculates that it’s all because the Cupertino-based company doesn’t want to take the risk of seeing people putting heavy weights on their phones.
Not the first time iPhone users would try something foolish
Basically, Apple is afraid that such an app would encourage everyone to find the weight of all kinds of objects, and honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised at all if some even tried to see their weight by simply stepping on the iPhone.
“To make a long story short the final answer over the phone was that the concept of a scale app was not appropriate for the App Store… Maybe it’s because the screen could get damaged if people tried dropping heavy weights on their phone,” the dev goes on to add.
And it wouldn’t be the first time some iPhone users would try this kind of risky things. Back in 2014, a number of buyers attempted to charge their phones in the microwave, after pranks posted online claimed this was indeed possible. Needless to say, all these devices got fried, so Apple most likely doesn’t want to risk anything by allowing a digital scale app in the store.