Google Pixel 9 could launch with an adaptive touch feature

You might have noticed that when your fingers are wet, or if your phone’s display is wet, trying to interact with the touchscreen can be difficult. It can also happen if you use a particularly badly-made screen protector. Thankfully, Google could be trying to remedy that in the Pixel 9 with a new adaptive touch feature.

This is according to a report from Mishaal Rahman over at Android Authority. The feature was spotted in the Android 14 QPR3 Beta 1 release. Based on the discovery, it claims that when adaptive touch is enabled, “touch sensitivity will automatically adjust to your environment, activities and screen protector.”

If this sounds familiar, it is because the feature was originally reported back in February earlier this year. But now upon further digging of the code in the Beta 2 release, it has been suggested that adaptive touch could be a feature in the Pixel 9. Whether or not it will be exclusive or will eventually trickle down in later updates remains to be seen.

Google already has a “screen protector detector” feature on its Pixel phones. Google also wouldn’t be the first to come up with ways to deal with wet fingers or a wet display. OnePlus has a similar feature called Aqua Touch. If anything, adaptive touch sounds like it could be combining all those features into one.