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Multi-touch

The ability for a touch surface to respond to multiple finger touches at the same time.

For example, a common use for multi-touch is pinch-to-zoom, where you can place two fingers on a screen image (like photo, web page, or map) and spread your fingers to zoom in, or pinch your fingers together together to zoom out.

Another example is tapping (or dragging) with two or more fingers, and having that do something different than only using one finger.

Multi-touch is a common feature of capacitive touch screens, but not with older resistive touch screens.

See: Capacitive Touch

Last updated Jan 26, 2024 by Rich Brome

Editor in Chief Rich became fascinated with cell phones in 1999, creating mobile web sites for phones with tiny black-and-white displays and obsessing over new phone models. Realizing a need for better info about phones, he started Phone Scoop in 2001, and has been helming the site ever since. Rich has spent two decades researching and covering every detail of the phone industry, traveling the world to tour factories, interview CEOs, and get every last spec and photo Phone Scoop readers have come to expect. As an industry veteran, Rich is a respected voice on phone technology of the past, present, and future.

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