Capacitive Touchscreens

Unlike resistive touchscreens, capacitive touch screens use electrical capacitance. When you apply an electrical charge to an object, the charge then builds up. When there’s no place for the electrical charge to go, the object holds on to the charge. This storage in known as capacitance. While resistive touch technology uses mechanical pressure, capacitive technology uses the electrical properties of the human body.

A capacitive touchscreen typically has one screen that is coated with transparent conductive material on one side. Since the human body allows electricity to pass through it, when you touch capacitive screen there is an electrical transfer. You’ve probably experienced the small shock that comes from walking across the carpet and then reaching out and touching something. This is the buildup of an electrical charge and the transfer of the charge. This is basically how capacitive technology works. Your body’s electrical charge changes the screen’s electrical field. The charge is registered by the conductive material on the glass, and the location of the touch is determined. This is done with several different technologies, but they all use your touch to change the electrical field.

Capacitive touch screens are more popular today even though they were actually invented first almost 10 years before resistive touch technology. Capacitive touch screens are more expensive to make than other touch screens, but they are very popular as they can do much more. This technology does give a better image since there only one layer for light to move through. Capacitive touchscreens, unlike resistive ones, also allow for multi-finger use. This technology is used in most new smart phones like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy; higher end tablets like the iPad and Kindle Fire; and for touchscreen computers like the Microsoft Surface.

Capacitive touchscreens usually provide a more pleasant user experience. Actions like swiping through contact lists, zooming in and out of web pages and maps, typing emails and text messages, and scrolling through photos are best suited to capacitive touchscreens. As technology moves forward and we use other methods of interacting with our devices—voice input, for example—touch technology is probably going to stay our primary way of controlling our devices for the near future.

How do you feel about touch technology? Do you like using your fingers while using your smartphone or tablet? Or do you prefer a stylus? Let us know in the comments below.