32 free iOS apps that take advantage of 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s

One of the cornerstone features of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is 3D Touch. This new touchscreen functionality allows for you to access an app’s Quick Action shortcuts right from the Home screen before fully launching the app. It also gives you new ways to interact once you’re in an app, allowing you to “Peek” and “Pop” to get a glimpse of an email, message, or links without navigating away from the app.

Most of Apple’s native apps (Mail, Messages, Safari, Apple Music) came equipped with 3D Touch when the new iPhones came out last week, and now third-party apps are getting in on the Quick Action. Here’s what you can do with 3D Touch on free apps like Instagram, Dropbox, Shazam, Evernote, Twitter, and WeChat.

Twitter was one of the first third-party apps to embrace 3D Touch, with an app update ready to go the day the iPhone 6s shipped. Use 3D Touch on the Twitter icon to search through your feed, compose a new tweet, or send a new message.

Song recognition app Shazam is getting better. With 3D Touch Quick Actions, you can now Shazam a song from your Home screen and with one less tap. Deep press on the Home icon to have Shazam start listening or take a photo for visual recognition.

Peek and Pop into pins with 3D Touch in the latest version of  Pinterest. From the Home screen, you can also launch several Quick Actions. Jump straight into trending pins, search for new pins, or create a new board when you 3D Touch on the Pinterest icon.

Now you can access Instagram’s many features directly from the Home screen using 3D Touch. Launch Quick Actions to create a new photo post, view your activity and notifications, search for photos, or send a direct photo message. While navigating the app, you can also 3D Touch on a profile link to get a Peek preview of the user. Lift up from a Peek to perform common actions like following a user or liking a photo.

SPG is the official app for all Starwood Hotels & Resorts, including St. Regis, The W, and Westin hotels. SPG has been updated to incorporate 3D Touch Quick Actions, so you now can book a hotel for the same night instantly or view upcoming reservations right from your Home screen.

3D Touch on the Dropbox app icon in the Home screen to access new Quick Action shortcuts, like searching your files, uploading a photo to your Dropbox, and viewing your offline files or files you’ve recently added. You can also use 3D Touch inside the app to Peek into files and folders and get a glimpse of its contents.

Experiential travel magazine AFAR has incorporated 3D Touch in its Travel Guide by AFAR app. 3D Touch the app’s icon on your Home screen to quickly search the “best things around you,” access your travel itinerary you saved offline, or browse your recently-viewed city guides.

With 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions in  OpenTable, you can view your upcoming dinner reservations or check to see if there’s a table available at your favorite restaurant right from the Home screen. You can also use 3D Touch to Peek into a restaurant’s location on a map and book a reservation time instantly.

Buffer, the service that lets you schedule your Twitter and Facebook updates, has incorporated 3D Touch in its app. Launch the Quick Action from the Home screen to start composing a new social media post.

Messaging app WeChat uses 3D Touch to activate Quick Actions directly from the Home screen. For example, you can access and share your QR code to start chatting with people, record a short Sight video, or initiate a new chat.

Blue Apron, the service that delivers fresh, pre-proportioned ingredients for home cooking, has an iOS app (free) that lets you save your favorite recipes, take photos of your meals, and get cooking tips. With 3D Touch, you can access your delivery schedule or view your most recent recipe right from the Home screen. You can also use 3D Touch to quickly Peek into a recipe as you’re navigating around the app.

ClearSlide Email does not have any 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions, but just like the native Mail app, it now gives you the ability to Peek into an email—and even reply and forward—without having to Pop it open.

Another email app that utilizes 3D Touch-enabled Peek and Pop actions to better navigate our inboxes, Spark also has a new set of Quick Actions you can launch right from the Home screen. You can view your calendar, check your attachments, search for a specific message, or start writing a new email.

Real-time public transit app Citymapper has taken advantage of 3D Touch to include Quick Actions. You can 3D Touch the icon to launch transit directions to get home or to another location.

With 3D Touch, Evernote is making it even easier to navigate through all your notes. Quick Actions from the Home screen include composing a new note, taking a photo, and setting a reminder. Once inside the Evernote app you can activate 3D Touch to Peek into links and then press deeper to Pop into the full website. You can also use Peek to get a preview of notes from your Evernote home screen.

Music-making app Magic Piano has incorporated 3D Touch in a more creative way. You can’t use it to launch Quick Actions or Peek & Pop. Instead, Magic Piano now recognizes 3D Touch presses as a way to control the volume—the harder you press down on a piano note, the louder it will be. 

Sharing your favorite GIF has just gotten easier with the 3D Touch-enabled GIF Keyboard. Deep press on the app icon from the Home screen to launch a Quick Action, like searching for GIFs, uploading a GIF from your camera roll, or sending a GIF via Messages.

Handle combines your email, calendar, and to-do list to help you get more stuff done. Now with 3D Touch, you can jump straight to Quick Actions to create a task, write an email, or create an event on your calendar.

The 3D Touch Quick Actions on Hipstamatic (free for a limited time) show off the photo app’s many shooting capabilities. Looking to capture a sunset seconds before it disappears? The Shoot Sunset Quick Actions should come in handy. Other shooting modes you can access quickly via 3D Touch include those for food and selfies.

Bumpn now supports 3D Touch but not in the form of Quick Actions or Peek & Pop. Instead, the social media app lets users give out more hearts to their favorite photos the deeper they press down on the screen. We wouldn’t be surprised if this 3D Touch function is imitated by Periscope or other taps-for-hearts apps.

Video-conferencing service BlueJeans has updated its iOS app with 3D Touch capabilities. 3D Touch the icon on the Home screen to lauch Quick Actions, such as joining a video meeting, joining a private room, or scheduling a new video conference.

Much like the native Camera app, the free version of the Camera+ app now allows you to take a photo or a selfie from the Home screen. Other 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions include taking a macro photo and viewing the saved photos in your lightbox.

Chairish is like the Craigslist of high-quality, vintage, or “pre-loved” home decor and furniture. 3D Touch makes it easy to Peek at different items in the gallery or launch a Quick Action from the Home screen to create a listing of one of your pieces.

3D Touch capabilities are not just for grown-ups.  Endless Reader uses 3D Touch as new fun and interactive way to get kids to read. Pressing firmly on a letter makes it even more animated and loud.

Curious is an iOS app that promises to help you learn something new everyday. Now with 3D Touch, you can launch Quick Actions like checking in to your current lesson (if you are logged in), viewing daily lessons, and watching CuriousTV courses.

Car insurance comparison app Go has incorporated 3D Touch capabilities to launch Quick Actions like jumping directly to your profile from the Home screen.

With  Genius Scan, it’s like having a scanner in your pocket. Now with 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions, you can scan from the cloud, your camera roll, or a photo taken with the camera. 

Personalized news reading app News360 has updated its iOS app to incorporate a short synopsis of the news everytime you use 3D Touch to Peek into a new story. On the Home screen you can also use 3D Touch and launch Quick Actions to jump to your saved stories, find local news, or read top stories.

Conferencing app Join.Me has updated its iOS app to take advantage of 3D Touch. Deep press on the Home icon to choose a Quick Action and launch all supported meeting types (video, audio, etc.). Join.Me also utilizes 3D Touch so you can Peek into documents, presentations, and whiteboards before sharing with your colleagues. 

Touchnote (free) is an iOS app to help you personalize your photos so you can print them and send them as postcards. Now you can start a postcard or greeting card design using 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions.

Photo and video collage-making app Storehouse has incoporated 3D Touch-enabled Quick Actions. The Home screen shortcuts include adding friends and creating a new story.

Weibo is China’s version of Twitter and Facebook combined—and now it’s incorporated 3D Touch. Similar to WeChat, you can launch a Quick Action to scan a friend’s QR code and chat with them. Other 3D Touch-enabled actions include creating a new post, looking at popular or trending topics, and searching for content.