Resistive vs. capacitive touchscreen: what's the difference?
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Resistive or capacitive touchscreen? Do you know what's in your smartphone? We will explain the difference to you.
Resistive touchscreens work via pressure gestures
A resistive touchscreen reacts to pressure. It is not important whether you press with your whole finger, fingernail or a pen. Such a touchscreen consists of two layers. The upper layer is made of polyester and the underlying layer is mostly made of glass. One of these two layers is put under direct voltage, for example the lower glass layer. If you now press the layers together, you can measure the tension on the upper polyester film at the edges and thus get the position of the pressure point.
Capacitive touchscreens react to touch
In contrast to a resistive touchscreen, a capacitive touchscreen also works without pressure. You just have to touch it to interact. So you can easily test what type of touchscreen is installed in your smartphone or tablet. The screen also no longer consists of several layers, but only a glass plate. A transparent conductive film was applied to this. An alternating current creates an electric field that reacts to touch. The current flow sent is measured at the corners to determine the position of your finger.
Disadvantages or advantages of capacitive versus resistive displays
- Capacitive displays are resistant to scratches and wear.
- Capacitive touchscreens can usually be operated more precisely with the finger. Multi-touch is also possible. You can also operate your smartphone or tablet with more than one finger. For example, when zooming in with the pinch gesture.
- Capacitive touch screens only react to conductive input devices, such as fingers. Resistive displays, on the other hand, can also be operated with gloves, pens or fingernails.
Current developments in smartphone and tablet touchscreens
Resistive touchscreens are hardly used in modern smartphones and tablets. The capacitive models have established themselves due to their low wear and their multi-touch capability. Accordingly, there is not a single smartphone with a resistive display in the current CHIP cell phone best list among the top 100.