Microsoft's pressure-sensitive software keyboard is ripe for dual-screen laptops

▤ Summary

Intel is working with partners Asus and Lenovo to bring its Tiger Rapids concept prototype to consumers — it’s essentially a laptop that replaces the bottom keyboard portion with a secondary touchscreen .While the second screen adds more versatility for users to view, create, and interact with content, typing on a glass surface will be a challenge, and now Microsoft has a solution.For example, touch the key lightly and swipe to the right, and the keyboard will recognize that you’re typing a lowercase letter.“By using pressure measures for symbol selection, it is possible for a touch input to control which symbol permutation (of a virtual key selected by the touch input) is selected without having to display additional graphics or user interface elements and without requiring possibly slow and elaborate interactions by the user to specify permutations of a virtual key’s symbol,” Microsoft said.While these innovations may be new to the desktop — and convertible laptops and tablets — they already exist in some similar form today on mobile devices.

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