This year’s continuation of the iPhone may be visually identical to last year’s model, but as Apple has been keen to point out, “the only thing that’s changed is everything”. One of the defining features of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus is 3D Touch, a feature which has managed to raise some questions about the ongoing validity of screen protectors for the iPhone, and whether or not they’ll work with the new hardware.

3D Touch is being marketed by the Cupertino-based company as “the next generation of Multi-Touch”. After pioneering Multi-Touch displays with the original iPhone, Apple is once again trying to change the way we interact with mobile devices by introducing a new dimension of touch accessible through an array of capacitive sensors embedded within the display of the new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus handsets.

The inclusion of this technology has prompted certain users to question whether or not screen protectors will still work with the devices. Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller, has seemingly confirmed that third-party screen protectors that conform to the Mac-maker’s provided guidelines, will function perfectly fine with the new hardware and included 3D Touch technology:

Screen overlays that follow our guidelines will continue to work with 3D Touch.

So there we have it; if you have owned an iPhone in the past and like to keep the beautiful Retina HD display protected with a screen protector, then you should be fine to continue with this set up going forward, as long as the purchased protector follows the official guidelines outlined by Apple. For the record, those guidelines state that any designed screen overlay must be electrically conductive and cannot exceed 0.3mm in thickness. Manufacturers of these protective screen overlays must also ensure that the product does not introduce any air gaps between the touchscreen.

Due to the similar size of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to last year’s iPhone 6 models, it’s highly likely that existing protectors that conform to guidelines, and that are available via Apple’s official stores, will work without issue on new hardware. Of course, we’ll have to wait until September 25 to test that out for sure.

(Source: 3D Techtronics)