A lot of science needs to go into pressure detection and the vibrating "kick" that makes it feel like you just pressed something. The challenge is tricking the user into thinking that touchpad click is a click and not just some software chicanery (even though that is precisely what it is). Perhaps more critically, and certainly relevant to the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga, these touchpads can also be dramatically thinner than current ones that physically move up and down. And if the OS (or software) supports that extra dimension (pressure depth), it gives a new interaction model not currently available to "2D" touchpads. There is no risk for a loose or rattling touchpad, an issue in mass production and quality control checks. There is more consistency in clicks since the system can register corners just as easily as the center resulting in no dead zones. Long term, there is less breakage from switch failure since nothing is repetitively moving. The benefits of a non-moving, haptics-based touchpad should be apparent. Why is a haptics touchpad better than just capacitive? To find out why, I spoke with Sensel's Director of Product Management, Dean Chang, about why that is changing and what makes haptic touchpads so tricky. Apple has done haptic touchpads for years, but it has taken time for Windows PCs to catch up.
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