Companies have tried in different ways to improve touchscreen technology and Apple’s 3D Touch looked like a breakthrough at first. However, when this feature wasn’t included in the recently released iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro, the only conclusion one could deduce is that people are not really using it and developers are not really tapping into its potential. However, the latest demo from Microsoft Research shows the new Pre-Touch technology that looks like something we might be seeing on newer devices soon.
The idea may not really be original as Samsung has a similar technology called Air Command seen on Samsung Note devices with stylus support, and Microsoft’s Pre-Touch looks like a much improved version of this. While Samsung Air Command works only with stylus and lets you hold the S-Pen above the display and interact with it without actually touching the screen, Microsoft’s Pre-Touch detects your fingers above the display to give options you can interact with.
A demo video uploaded to youtube shows exactly how it works:
The technology doesn’t just lets you interact with the screen by detecting your fingers hovering above the display, grip-detection also works by detecting which hand you’re holding the device to show interactive actions on that side of the screen.