Apple has discontinued support for Force Touch starting with watchOS 7, meaning that the feature that was present on the Apple Watch from the beginning will no longer be available on the Apple Watch 6

In the past, older versions of watchOS would show additional options on the Apple Watch display when "pressed and held hard," but this feature will no longer be available in watchOS 7 It is unclear what will replace Force Touch, but Apple is suggesting that watchOS app developers consider new ways to replace Force Touch interactions in their apps

"In watchOS 7 and later, system apps will provide access to previously hidden menu items on the related and settings screens," Apple says in its updated human interface guidelines

"If you supported long press gestures to open hidden menus, consider moving the menu item to a different location

For those who don't know, Force Touch is Apple's way of allowing long-presses on everything from a MacBook Pro trackpad to an iPhone display to trigger other interface options The idea is that this kind of interaction eliminates the need to click and tap repeatedly to access certain menus or app features

Force Touch was a feature on the first Apple Watch and continues to be included through the Apple Watch Series 5 given the limited screen space of the Apple Watch, using Force Touch to invoke additional features Apple Watch and watchOS now feel more intuitive

However, since watchOS 7 does not include Force Touch, it is safe to assume that the Apple Watch 6, which is expected to be released at the same time as the iPhone 12 this year, will not include Force Touch Instead, it could feature entirely new controls, perhaps a Digital Crown with many integrated features and enhanced gesture controls

Previous leaks and rumors about the Apple Watch 6 suggest that it will not be dramatically different from the current Apple Watch, but a completely redesigned Apple Watch could be on the horizon

A recent Apple patent suggests that the Apple Watch may feature an optical sensor in place of the Digital Crown, which could open up new ways for Apple to control the smartwatch without dramatically changing its overall design However, we will have to wait until September to get a clear picture of what the Apple Watch 6 will look like and how Apple will evolve its amazing smartwatch