Rumors reaffirmed: next Xiaomi flagship to have pressure-sensitive screen, developed by Synaptics

About a month ago, we got some exciting news from Synaptics. If you don't know who that is – the company is probably the biggest name out there, when it comes to any type of touch-based human interface solutions – touchpads, touchscreens, fingerprint ID, et cetera. So, it uploaded a demo of a tech that it is developing, dubbed ClearForce. And yes, it is a pressure-sensitive tech, much like Apple's Force Touch (on the Watch) or 3D Touch (on the iPhone 6s / iPhone 6s Plus).

It's becoming obvious that this type of interface will not be exclusive to Apple's smartphones for long. Huawei's Mate S has a more expensive variant almost out the door, which will come with “Force Touch”, and we've been hearing rumors that Xiaomi's next flagship – the Mi 5 – will also have a pressure-sensitive screen.

What we have today is yet another rumor surrounding the next Mi and its possible integration with the new tech. Coming from Chinese tech blog, there are whispers that Xiaomi will, in fact, be getting Synaptics' ClearForce tech for its new flagship. What this means is that the Mi 5 will probably be able to do more than just show you a fullscreen picture when you press harder on its thumbnail. ClearForce supports scrolling, when you push at the bottom of the screen, picture zoom and panning, continuously variable gaming control functions, unlock and wake up, keyboard symbol and upper case selection, plus more.

More practical applications for a pressure-sensitive screen is definitely something we'd love to see, and more competition in the are will stimulate some extra innovation. So, there's nothing left but to wait and hope that the rumors are true!