PSA: iPhone SE's Haptic Touch Doesn't Work With Notifications and It's Not a Bug

Customers who have purchased the new 2020 iPhone SE have found a surprising missing feature - Haptic Touch does not work with notifications.

On the 2020 ‌iPhone‌ SE, long pressing on a notification in the Notification Center or on the Lock screen does not appear to bring up rich notification options to allow ‌iPhone‌ SE users to interact with incoming content.

richnotificationsiphone11pro

Rich notifications accessed with ‌Haptic Touch‌ on an ‌iPhone‌ 11 Pro

There have been complaints about the missing feature on Reddit and the MacRumors forums. From Reddit:

I received my SE yesterday and very quickly realized that Haptic Touch is not supported on notifications. I am not seeing this reported anywhere, haven't seen one review mentioning it, no video I watched mentioned it. Haptic Touch works for peek and pop, and on icons on the home screen but if you are on the lock screen or Notification Center and try to long press an email to archive, or a text to quick reply you are out of luck.

On the 6S-XS 3D Touch was the solution, with the XR and 11 series Haptic Touch was the replacement, but this is the first non 3D Touch phone to be released where all the features of Haptic Touch are not fully baked into the OS

With Haptic Touch-enabled devices like the ‌iPhone‌ 11 and 11 Pro, long pressing on a notification in the Notification Center or the Lock screen brings up interactive options based on the app sending the notification. An Apple News notification, for example, brings up options for reading the full story, sharing a story, or saving for later, while an email app might offer options to reply and delete an incoming message without needing to open the app.

In our testing, we were not able to long press on a notification to view these interactive options, as the long press functionality did not work. We also tried on an ‌iPhone‌ 8, which the ‌iPhone‌ SE is based on, but we were able to get the rich notifications to work on that device, which has 3D Touch.

While ‌iPhone‌ SE users cannot long press on notifications on the Lock screen or in the Notification Center, there does appear to be a ‌Haptic Touch‌ option when pressing on an incoming notification when the ‌iPhone‌ is in use.

A Reddit user called Apple Support and was told there was no software update planned to fix the behavior, but Apple Support can be unreliable when it comes to information about new hardware releases.

Update: According to TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino, the lack of ‌Haptic Touch‌ for notifications on the ‌iPhone‌ SE is not a bug and the feature is working as Apple intended.

Update 2: MacRumors forum members have pointed out that it's possible to slide to the left on a notification and tap on the "View" option as a workaround for the missing ‌Haptic Touch‌ feature.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Sunday March 23, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
iOS 18

Top 5 New Features Coming in iOS 18.4

Friday March 21, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
We're not getting new Siri Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18.4 as expected, but the upcoming update does have quite a few new additions that will be worth upgrading for. We've rounded up the five best features to look forward to, and if you're not running the beta, you can expect to get access to these in early April. Priority Notifications If you have an iPhone or iPad that supports...
Windows Vista

Apple Might Be Having Its Windows Vista Moment, Says Analyst

Thursday March 20, 2025 6:52 am PDT by
Is Apple experiencing a "Vista-like drift into systemically poor execution?" That was a question posed by well-known technology analyst Benedict Evans, in a recent blog post covering Apple's innovation and execution, or seemingly lack thereof as of late. He is referring to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized when it launched in 2007 due to software bugs,...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

Latest iPhone 17 Pro Dummies Highlight Apple's New Part-Glass Design

Thursday March 20, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Seasoned leaker Sonny Dickson has shared more dummy models of Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 series, with the latest lot revealing a noticeable shift in Apple's iPhone Pro model design that goes beyond the much-talked-about new rear camera bar. Dickson points out that the iPhone 17 Pro dummy models feature an outlined area on the back, beginning just below the camera module and extending to the...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 18, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
CarPlay GM EV

GM Reportedly Blocks Dealership From Installing CarPlay in Newer EVs

Friday March 21, 2025 8:22 am PDT by
A few years ago, the American automaker General Motors (GM) announced that it would be phasing out support for CarPlay and Android Auto in its new electric vehicles, in favor of its own software platform. It was a controversial decision, as many drivers who are in the market for a new vehicle consider CarPlay to be a must-have feature. Looking to capitalize on the situation, one GM...

Top Rated Comments

whyamihere Avatar
64 months ago
Well ya didn't expect to get ALLL the iOS functionality for $399 did ya?!? ;)
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
64 months ago
This better be a bug, as a dev having to “inform” users of the various interactions (3D touch, Haptic Touch, drag down) on notifications sucks...and then having a random brand new device not support it at all makes it even worse.

My guess is the SE has a modified iPhone 8 version of iOS, which is expecting 3D touch to access these things.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
64 months ago
People are saying this is a bug, but it works this same way on the old iPhone SE. It's Apple segmenting software features, even though it leads to an inconsistent UI and user frustration. It's not even a big thing, it's a little thing, and it's annoying that they've decided to do this. Hopefully they reverse course.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stromos Avatar
64 months ago
I would say it has to be a bug otherwise it's purely a we are holding back features on the cheaper phone.....
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dontwalkhand Avatar
64 months ago
I am hoping this is just a bug. Though I will be honest, I don't think I ever used this feature on my 11 Pro.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
64 months ago
This is most likely a bug. There's some apps like Duo that require this functionality to work!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)