Like Quick Tap? Google Could Make Your Entire Pixel Touch-Sensitive.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has filed a patent for technology that detects gestures on the frame and back of a device.
- The patent notes that this could apply to a smartphone, tablet, and more.
- This could allow users to adjust volume, scrub through a video, and more without touching the display.
Google Pixel phones have long offered Quick Tap functionality, allowing you to double-tap the rear cover to initiate an action. Now, a new patent reveals that Google is thinking about upping the ante.
Google filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (h/t: Patently Apple) on April 3, titled “Leveraging inactive touchpoints for gesture recognition and user interface configuration.” The patent describes the detection of user gestures via a “presence-sensitive housing” on a device. The filing notes that this could enable gestures at “any exterior location” on said device, including the back.
The patent description points to several possible uses for this functionality:
Based on the identified gesture input, the computing device performs one or more actions such as adjusting a volume setting, scrubbing video playback, and modifying a graphical user interface of the computing device (e.g., portrait vs landscape mode, placement of elements within the graphical user interface, etc.), among other actions.
The filing also notes that Google would use a machine-learning model to filter out false inputs, such as someone merely holding the device or adjusting their grip.
Google specifically notes that the device could be a smartphone. However, the company adds that this feature could also apply to a tablet, laptop or desktop computer, smart speaker, ebook reader, smartwatch, and more.
Do you want gestures on your phone’s frame and rear cover?
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A touch-sensitive frame would be pretty interesting as older Google Pixel phones (and HTC devices) offered squeeze gestures to activate Google Assistant and initiate other actions. So this new patent could be a superpowered version of that Active Edge feature.
A touch-sensitive rear cover would also be intriguing. OPPO’s N1 smartphone in the early 2010s had a touch panel integrated into the rear cover, allowing you to scroll, tap, and click via the back. This feature, which also appeared on the PlayStation Vita handheld, quickly fell to the wayside, and we haven’t really seen it on smartphones since then.
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