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New iPhone game doubles as a scale for measuring things with 3D Touch

New iPhone game doubles as a scale for measuring things with 3D Touch

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I'm envisioning something else on that spoon

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Apple really doesn't want its latest iPhones to double as weird, makeshift scales. The pressure-sensitive 3D Touch technology built into the displays of new iPhones technically makes this possible, but Apple has already refused to let apps into the App Store for trying to cash in on this unconventional idea. Now, the developer of a just-launched game called Steady Square has managed to sneak the same functionality into his title.

As 9to5Mac notes, at first glance, it seems like a Flappy Bird clone that uses 3D Touch to control the player's movement. But that's really just a disguise for what's buried in the app. A "training" mode — something that might've slipped by Apple's app review team — allows users to determine the weight of items placed onto the iPhone. It's got to be small enough to fit in on a spoon, and even then you've got to adhere to a pretty ridiculous formula. Per 9to5Mac:

If you’re weighing very light things, you’ll need to place a spoon on the display first to see how much it weighs. After placing the spoon on the display, remember its force number. Now place whatever you actually want to weigh on the spoon. You should see a number between 0 and 1,000 appear. Subtract the spoon’s force number from the force number displayed with your goods placed on the spoon, then divide that number by 1,000 to get the force ratio. Then, multiply it by 385, which is the maximum number of grams that can be recorded by 3D Touch.

Look, I'm not sure what kind of situation you could possibly find yourself in where you'd need a scale this urgently. Weighing out food ingredients? I have a feeling it's something else. And once Apple discovers the trick, Steady Square might have to get rid of it or risk being booted from the lucrative app market. But if you're looking for a neat (albeit complex) party trick to show off Apple's screen technology, here's your way in. At least the guy's not trying to make any money off an app that's probably not long for the App Store.


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