Google is bringing a new setting to its Android mobile operating system that will keep your touchscreen feeling fast and responsive… even when you’re using a screen protector. Tempered glass or plastic protectors can impact the touch sensitivity of the display.
If you’re playing mobile games, using photo editing or art apps – any software at all that requires a precise stroke from your fingertip really – any small reduction in touch sensitivity can be a real nightmare. We haven’t had a chance to test out Google’s software solution, but fingers crossed it means using a screen protector on your shiny new flagship phone doesn’t have any negative side effects.
Google launched the first developer beta of its next-generation Android 11 update without any fanfare yesterday. The new operating system is a very early look at what the US company has planned for the final version, which usually arrives on a select number of Android handsets in August.
However, the beta version, which is designed to allow third-party developers time to test their own apps and services on the operating system to resolve any compatibility issues before the worldwide launch, does contain a few clues about the features coming to the next version of Android. And one of the most notable is the screen sensitivity control.
It’s worth pointing out Google hasn’t invented this concept. In fact, a number of other Android manufacturers, including Samsung, have included controls like this for some time. However, the fact that Google will now bake the functionality directly into Android means that every handset going forward will include the option, which is a big deal.
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The setting could not only help you improve the usability on your handset even when a thicker screen protector, like those made from tempered glass, is applied, but could also make it easier to use touchscreen-compatible gloves.
These gloves have small patches at the end of the fingertips with conductive wire within the cloth fibres which enables the electricity in your fingertip to travel through the fabric and act on the touchscreen. However, since there is still an additional barrier between your finger and the screen, these can also be less precise – something the setting also aims to fix.