Robotic testing finds touchscreen inaccuracies at edge of iPhone display

124678

Comments

  • Reply 61 of 146
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jfc1138 View Post

     

    Neither is labeling a different experience/viewpoint "ignorant". Though it puts Stelligent into clear perspective.


    I agree with that. But that makes him (or her) arrogant and rude, not wrong.

  • Reply 62 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by appleUWF View Post



    Why wasn't the iPhone 5 included in the test? Two new Apple units and one older Samsung unit... Seems really odd, as usual with anti-Apple tests. Bad Samsung.

    I agree that the test samples make for an odd selection. But it doesn't mean the test was anti-Apple. It just happens that the results seem to show Apple in a lesser light. Do you label tests that show Apple in a good light to be anti-Samsung?

  • Reply 63 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by randallking View Post

     

     

    I'm having this problem on my iPhone 4S, probably close to the same percentages as you, but I'd say 10% of the time after upgrading to iOS 7, and 3% when using previous versions of iOS. Not sure if it's a software glitch or if it's just that the location of keys changed slightly in iOS 7.


    That's interesting. I don't recall experiencing this on 4S but that feels like a long time ago. The problems I have seen on 5 and 5s predate iOS7.

  • Reply 64 of 146
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    No problems here on my 5s dude. Are you having these issues on your 5c?  Just out of curiosity. 

    My wife down't have her iPhone yet. FWIW she's leaning towards a 5 rather than a 5c.
  • Reply 65 of 146
    Qpqpqpqpqp... Seems to work just fine!
  • Reply 66 of 146
    Here is a thought. Look at your hand. Now imagine a phone in it (right handed. Sorry soutpaws). What if part of this is intentional to compensate for the reach and curvature of your fingers as you use the display. So, in the area that is green, the face of your thumb is at the correct angle to the display. But outside of that area, you might want to bias the hit points in a different direction to compensate for the fact that your thumb is actually contorting to hit other areas, and different parts of your thumb are useful depending on where it touches. Maybe Apple is smarter than a robot that doesn't tap at odd angles.
  • Reply 67 of 146
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    sog35 wrote: »
    i havee  problam tyyping wtih my iPhome 5S

    send from my Samsung S4

    We have a winner! Don't forget the "[Post at 2pm ET]"
  • Reply 68 of 146
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    I think the test is flawed. Apple isn't designing for machines, but humans. The way you tap a certain area of the screen changes based on angle. For instance, try using an iPad upside down (where the screen hasn't rotated). You'll notice all of your hits are off. (We do this at trade shows a lot) This is because where your eye thinks your tapping and where you actually tap are different places due to distance for the source. Apple accounts for this where other operating systems do not. While they may be "technically" correct, when it comes to humans using the device, it's wrong.
  • Reply 69 of 146
    Why isn't the iPhone 5 and 4S listed for comparison?
  • Reply 70 of 146
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post



    Hmm seems to me that this is a lot of FUD. The active region is the keyboard area so why would anyone expect less. And it's custom software that happens to report that the competition is 100% perfect.



    No chance this is a rigged test of course.

     

    You can't assume the keyboard is always in the same area on the screen.  If screen rotation is used, then the keyboard may be in different areas of the screen.  Nor is the keyboard the only place where people interact with the touch screen.  Uniform accuracy is a good thing for touch screens.  Possible solution:  "Just don't hold it that way" or "Just don't touch it there". :D

     

    One would think that automated testing tools would be the most objective and unbiased method for testing accuracy and tolerances, since the robot doesn't personally care if it is testing an Apple or Samsung device.  Unless someone wants to claim that the robot was purposely set up to test the iPhone differently from the Samsung phone. :???: 

  • Reply 71 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Haggar View Post

     

    "Just don't touch it there". :D

     


    That seems to be good advice in many situations. Particularly here, where people are rather touchy.

  • Reply 72 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SurferBoi View Post



    Here is a thought. Look at your hand. Now imagine a phone in it (right handed. Sorry soutpaws). What if part of this is intentional to compensate for the reach and curvature of your fingers as you use the display. So, in the area that is green, the face of your thumb is at the correct angle to the display. But outside of that area, you might want to bias the hit points in a different direction to compensate for the fact that your thumb is actually contorting to hit other areas, and different parts of your thumb are useful depending on where it touches. Maybe Apple is smarter than a robot that doesn't tap at odd angles.

    So Apple (or you) is 100% sure everyone will hold and tap the device at the angle they predict?

  • Reply 73 of 146
    tyler82tyler82 Posts: 1,100member

    Loving my 4s more and more :)

  • Reply 74 of 146
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    stelligent wrote: »
    When will people understand that "I've never seen this problem" means nothing?

    I don't make up stories in a forum. That doesn't mean there aren't people like Flaneur who do.

    Yep, don't know about "stories," but I sometimes try to make up for a general lack of imagination among a group of people who seem to have spent their lives in front of screens and keyboards. Seems to me they way outnumber the cause-and-effect thinkers, and only trade in memes.

    Not that there aren't a lot of very intelligent people here. A few of them are in this thread. So what's your problem with "heuristic"?
  • Reply 75 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post



    From the report:

    "Everybody can do this same test with a real device. For example: you can try to tap the letter P

    (English keyboard) when your finger is close to the right side of the screen. In many cases smartphone

    does not react to your tap because touch result is reported outside of the button (as seen on Image

    6). Also letters I, O and P are not responding as well as letters E,R,T,Y and U because the touch

    accuracy is not constant. This will cause extra typing errors that are not actually caused by the end

    user but the smartphone. "

    http://www.optofidelity.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/OF_iPhone5C_vs_iPhone5C.pdf

    Tried it on my 5 and my wife's 5S. ZERO problem.

  • Reply 76 of 146
    rrobrrrobr Posts: 28member

    Just tried on my 5S. Zero problems with any key in any orientation. Don't recall it being a problem on my 4S or 3GS, either. And I have fat fingers.

     

    Good thing I'm not a robot!

  • Reply 77 of 146
    cjaercjaer Posts: 14member
    A 1MM tolerance, that feels pretty tight. As a point of reference, my fingers register an approximately 10 MM surface area (4x3 with rounded corners). Seems like if the overall registration was off by 15% that software could correct for it.

    The users comment about being glade she's not a robot isn't a "sheep" answer, it points out that if you look at the area of impact made by the testing apparatus it's not going to give you a clear indication of real world results. I can't make an impression that small without using a stylus.

    Before you're head explodes and you lump me in with a blind apple follower, sure... more accuracy is probably better. I just think it's important to ask second level questions.

    Such as:
    Who is supplying the touch screens for these to Apple? I wonder if I yield has anything to do with it. If Apple uses multiple suppliers (i.e. Sharp, LG, Optronics) are the results consistent across them all?

    Who paid for this study?

    How many different iPhones/Samsungs were tested?

    Where were both the iPhones and Samsung acquired? Consumer Reports doesn't let vendors give them test models, they go out and buy them from the retail channel for a reason.

    Finally, let's say that apple's tolerance is 1.1MM and Samsungs is .9MM. If that was the case then the question isn't why did apple fail in this test, but should be "What is the appropriate tolerance?"

    I've had time on the S3 and iP5, and ad more issues on the S3... but that's not exactly a comprehensive study. Nor is this report, at least by the summary provided in the article. Would love to hear from someone who specializes in this field, but of course Apple Insider doesn't do any investigating.
  • Reply 78 of 146
    I wonder if there could be an issue with Apple's touch technology, since it's based on some biometrics (heat/electrical signal) that robots aren't 100% able to replicate with a rubber end piece (also explains why styluses suck so badly on iPads but Galaxy Note comes with one built in). I doubt this test is even possible with a living human finger to see what the difference would be.

    However, good news for Samsung and bad for Apple if this is holds true.

    Side Note:
    I think this report may be accurate. I developed a game a while ago where you can put your iPhone on the table between two people and play against each other (aka, each using half of the iPhone screen) and the top/upside down player would always be at a disadvantage because of tap accuracy.

    I always thought this had to do with something the OS does in relation to where it "thinks" you want to tap while assuming you are holding the phone right side up instead of upside down.
  • Reply 79 of 146
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Flaneur View Post





    Yep, don't know about "stories," but I sometimes try to make up for a general lack of imagination among a group of people who seem to have spent their lives in front of screens and keyboards. Seems to me they way outnumber the cause-and-effect thinkers, and only trade in memes.

     

    Are you nuts? I tried to defend you, and yet you admit to making up stuff?

  • Reply 80 of 146

    The feature I find most interesting are the images themselves. Based on a picture alone we're to believe fully more than half of the screen on any new iPhone is less than 1mm accurate. I mean clearly we are not just talking about the edges, the entire top half of the screen basically wouldn't work if you had to shift 1mm for every action. Christ what BS. The screen depicted in the images probably would most likely be completely unusable.

Sign In or Register to comment.