Sometimes working on your smartphone when it is raining around gets very difficult. This is because the display acts finicky with wet fingers disrupting the ability of capacitive touch screens to register your touch which leads to the device not taking in tap or swipe inputs. Some devices come with thick or poor-quality screen protectors that bring down the touch sensitivity by a few notches. To cope up with these issues, many companies have started equipping their devices with sensitivity settings or dedicated screen protector mode so that touch sensitivity remains intact in rainy weather. Seems like Google Pixel 9 is all set to take things a notch higher by coming up with an automatic ‘Adaptive Touch’ Mode.
Let us try to understand what this capability is and how strong are its chances to come to Pixel 9.
Adaptive Touch on Pixel 9
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The Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1 release that rolled out last month hinted that Google is planning to add an Adaptive Touch setting to the device. It can be found under Settings > Display > Touch Sensitivity. The setting isn’t visible on Pixel 8 Pro which also runs the latest QPR Beta version, but whenever Adaptive Touch is enabled, touch sensitivity will automatically adjust to your environment, activities, and screen protector.
Although it isn’t clear what environmental factors the display will take into account, wet fingers working on a wet screen are a strong possibility. Chances are strong that Google is getting inspired by the OnePlus 12 which comes with the Aqua Touch Feature to adjust touch sensitivity when the screen is wet, making it convenient for users to use the phone in the rain.
Not only environmental conditions but Google’s Adaptive Touch mode is also expected to adjust touch sensitivity when a screen protector is detected. With the Google Pixel 8 Series, Google sneakily debuted a new screen protector detector that can detect when a user puts a screen protector on or takes it off. The OS does the work of informing the user that they should enable or disable screen protector mode according to need.
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Earlier it wasn’t clear if the upcoming Adaptive Touch Feature would come to existing Pixel devices or be rolled out on upcoming ones like Pixel 8a and Pixel 9 Series. Now, it has been rumored that it will eventually be enabled on the flagship Pixel 9 series. This is because the code reviewed by Android Authority indicates Adaptive Touch as a “P24” feature. While Google always uses codes like “P2X” to refer to existing Pixel devices for a year. “P23” was used for Pixel 8 and 8 Pro as they were launched in 2023. Thus the code “P24” means Google is talking about devices that are going to launch this year, namely the Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro.
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It is unclear if Google will eventually roll out this interesting feature to older devices as well or keep it reserved for Pixel 9 and ahead. Google does keep announcing feature drops now and then for its existing devices, so chances are high that this one might come to Pixel 8 and 7 Series in the future. There are some specific features that Google does skip out on for its older devices to differentiate its older lineups from new ones. So, for now, it is ambiguous if Google will bring Adaptive Touch to Pixel 8, Pixel 7, and Pixel 6 lineups or not.
Google Pixel 9 Series including Pixel 9 and Pixel 9 Pro smartphones will launch somewhere around October just like Pixel 8 Series. The smartphones will be powered by a Tensor G4 chipset and have smaller screens, flat panels, and sides. The camera bump will no longer span from one end to the other and the device will be around 8.5mm thick. Google might use titanium alloy for the frame of the devices.
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