The smartphone industry has come along way in the last few years, and during that time mobile device form factors have evolved quite a bit. While Blackberry still continues to cling on to the physical keyboard approach, finding an Android device with a physical QWERTY keyboard is becoming harder and harder to do.
As touchscreens improve, there just isn’t as much need for physical keys as there used to be. But what if you enjoy that tactile feedback provided from pushing against an actual button? That’s where Tactus Technology comes in with its “morphing tactile surface” technology that could potentially give us the best of both worlds.
This unique tech seemingly allows keyboard buttons to magically appear out of thin air
This unique tech seemingly allows keyboard buttons to magically appear out of thin air. Okay, it’s not really magic, and instead the MTS tech utilizes a fluid-based layer that reacts to electrical signals and then creates bumps that serve as keys and various other buttons.
Tactus’ MTS technology isn’t technically new as they quietly showcased it earlier this year at CES 2014, but the big difference between now and then is that the tech is finally marching toward production. Teaming up with Wistron Corporation, the company will release its first MTS product later this year, an iPad Mini case.
Although the first commercial product doesn’t affect us as Android users, it’s a step in the right direction. Tactus also hopes to produce its own tablet sometime in early 2015, and it’s pretty much guaranteed said device will run on some form of Android.
Ultimately the main advantage of this new technology is that it makes it easier to type, but Tactus says it could also be useful for replacement of home/return buttons, gaming controls, and so much more. It’s certainly a unique looking idea, though only time will tell whether or not MTS tech will be embraced by device owners and manufacturers in the future.
What do you think, like the idea of temporary physical buttons that rise out from your screen, or is there no longer a need for something like this in your opinion?
