First of all, we need to know what exactly is a Capacitive and a Resistive touch screen. Well, here it is-
RESISTIVE TOUCH-
This is the older of the two technologies. This technology is based on the principle of change in electric field in the screen. To be precise, a Resistive screen is made up of three layers of glass panels.Two of these layers are used for conduction and are separated using spacers.The third layer is scratch resistant layer and protects the whole arrangement.Current flows in the two conducting layers and when the screen is pressed, there is a change in magnetic field at that point.That point is then calculated and the related information about the location is sent to the touch screen driver software.
CAPACITIVE TOUCH-
This technology is the younger one of the two. This technology is based upon the transfer of charge from the screen to the body. The screen is covered with a glass panel covered with a material. The property of this material is that it can store charge in it. The human body also has the capability of storing charge in it. When the screen is pressed, the charge transfers from screen to the body. The sensors detect the decrease in charge at the screen and calculate the location of the point where there is a decrease in charge and the calculated location is sent to the touch screen driver software.
Which is better?
In favour of Capacitive touch-
- Better Technology.
- Highly sensitive to finger touch.
- Multi-touch support available (which is not present in Resistive touch).
- Not prone to dust particles.
- Good visibility even in sunlight.
In favor of Resistive touch-
- Can be used with accessories such as stylus (not possible in Capacitive touch).
- Cheaper than Capacitive touch.
- More accurate than Capacitive touch.
- Can be used at any level of humidity (unlike Capacitive touch which requires at least 5% humidity to achieve capacitive effect).
- Much more long-lived and reliable than Capacitive touch.
