That is not a best practice when there are fundamental differences between mouse vs touch.
In fact, trying to smooth over both desktop and mobile experiences with the exact same UI brush is the main reason we're left with the worst of both worlds.
By the way, Facebook also has hover previews on desktop. :)
Also, force touch OSX UI isn't a replacement when you need to manually highlight multi-word selections for it to work. Wikipedia's and Facebook's previews don't require you to do this.
I don't recommend sitting around and hoping browser vendors solve your problems. They're stuck in one-size-fits-all world while you can develop custom solutions for your site and users.
> trying to smooth over both desktop and mobile experiences with the exact same UI brush is the main reason we're left with the worst of both worlds.
Exactly the opposite is true. Browser vendors are able to customize the solution to the device and leverage new gestures. Case in point: Safari on desktop (3 finger tap) vs. mobile (3D touch). Even within page content, responsive design techniques can customize it to different devices.
> Also, force touch OSX UI isn't a replacement when you need to manually highlight multi-word selections for it to work.
There is no such thing as force touch on OSX (macOS). And we are talking about hyperlink previews, not selections. It sounds like you're a little confused here.
In fact, trying to smooth over both desktop and mobile experiences with the exact same UI brush is the main reason we're left with the worst of both worlds.
By the way, Facebook also has hover previews on desktop. :)
Also, force touch OSX UI isn't a replacement when you need to manually highlight multi-word selections for it to work. Wikipedia's and Facebook's previews don't require you to do this.
I don't recommend sitting around and hoping browser vendors solve your problems. They're stuck in one-size-fits-all world while you can develop custom solutions for your site and users.