Haptics Explorer is a free iPhone and iPad app that lets iOS developers preview and compare every haptic feedback pattern available on Apple devices — impacts, notifications, rhythms, gesture and game patterns — before writing them into an app.
What is Haptics Explorer?
Haptics Explorer is a reference and testing app for iOS haptics. You pick a pattern category on screen, tap a sample, and the device plays the corresponding vibration so you can feel exactly how it lands in the hand. It runs on iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 15.6 or later. The app is free on the App Store, funded by Google AdMob ads and basic anonymous analytics, and the privacy notice states that data stays on the device wherever possible and is not sold.
What makes Haptics Explorer stand out?
- Full impact set — light, medium, heavy, rigid and soft impact styles are each playable on demand, so you can compare the five tap strengths side by side.
- Notification patterns — success, error and warning feedback are available as distinct samples, matching the standard iOS notification vocabulary.
- Rhythm patterns — heartbeat, double tap, triple tap and tick tock give you repeating cadences rather than single pulses.
- Gesture feedback — swipe, pinch and long press samples map to the gestures developers most often attach feedback to.
- Game patterns — explosion, power-up and collision samples cover the common gameplay feedback moments.
- Intensity sliders — each pattern can be dialled between 0 and 100 percent, letting you feel how the same pattern changes as strength moves across the range.
- iPad support — a dedicated iPad layout, documented with App Store screenshots of the 13-inch iPad Pro build, alongside the iPhone version.
Who should use Haptics Explorer?
- iOS developers writing Core Haptics code — check what a light impact or a rigid impact actually feels like before choosing which one to ship in a button or a toggle.
- Designers specifying interaction feedback — audition notification success, error and warning patterns so specs name a real, felt behaviour rather than an adjective.
- Game developers prototyping feel — run explosion, power-up and collision patterns with the intensity slider to decide how hard a hit should read.
- Developers new to haptics — the app works as a browsable catalogue of the patterns Apple exposes, useful when you have no mental model of the vocabulary yet.
What can you do with Haptics Explorer?
- Shortlist a tap style: play light through rigid impacts on a real device and pick the one that matches the weight of the action, instead of guessing from API names.
- Tune feedback strength: sweep a pattern's intensity slider from 0 to 100 percent to find the level that still registers without feeling heavy-handed.
- Prototype a game feel: stack explosion, power-up and collision samples while designing the feedback map for a level or mechanic.
- Match gestures to feedback: audition swipe, pinch and long press patterns before wiring them into a photo viewer, map or drag interaction.
How does Haptics Explorer work?
Getting started takes three steps: download Haptics Explorer free from the App Store on an iPhone or iPad, open it, then tap any pattern entry — impact, notification, rhythm, gesture or game — to feel it play. Intensity sliders adjust the strength of a pattern from 0 to 100 percent before you play it again.
Pricing
Haptics Explorer is free to download on the App Store. The app shows ads served by Google AdMob and uses basic anonymous analytics; no subscription or in-app tier is described on the page.
Alternatives
Other apps named on the page as comparable tools include Core Haptics Playground, Haptic Studio and Vibration Master.
FAQ
Is Haptics Explorer free?
Yes. Haptics Explorer is a free download on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad. It is supported by Google AdMob advertising and basic anonymous analytics rather than a purchase price, and the app states that it does not sell your personal data.
What is Haptics Explorer?
Haptics Explorer is an iOS app for exploring, testing and implementing haptic feedback. It collects Apple's impact, notification, rhythm, gesture and game haptic patterns in one place so developers can feel each pattern and learn how to integrate it into their own projects.
What devices does Haptics Explorer support?
Haptics Explorer runs on iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 15.6 or later. Because it reproduces real vibration feedback, feeling the patterns requires running it on a physical device rather than relying on screenshots.
When was Haptics Explorer last updated?
The most recent version listed is 2026.01.15, released on 2026-01-15. The app holds a 5.0 rating from 4 raters on the US App Store, so its review base is small.
