One of the highlight features of the Nokia McLaren was a “3D Touch” feature that would let you interact with the elements on-screen by hovering your finger above the display. But while the Nokia McLaren was ultimately cancelled, its special feature lives on.
Microsoft has posted a YouTube video that shows off its Pre-Touch Sensing for Mobile Interaction technology. The clip allows the device’s screen to sense when your fingers are approaching it as well as when they’re on the sides and then adapt its user interface accordingly.
The clip offers different examples of how the Pre-Touch Sensing for Mobile Interaction tech could be used in real life. For example, watching a video could take up the entirety of your device’s display, but then playback controls could fade in over the top of the video when your device senses that your fingers are coming near the display. The device could also sense when you’ve got a hand on the outer edge and adapt its controls for one-handed use on that side of the display.
Another example given by the video shows how you could navigate a webpage. The page would take up all of your display, but when your finger gets near the screen, links that are near your finger would be highlighted. Pressing two fingers on the display would show how you can swipe left or right to go backward or forward.
It’s said that Microsoft cancelled the McLaren because developers had a hard time to build apps that were compatible with this feature, which likely would’ve been a large focus of the McLaren if it were officially launched. It’s unclear if Microsoft will actually use this in a new phone — like the Surface Phone that’s rumored to be in the works — but Microsoft may not have much better luck in getting developers to build apps that use it if they do. The feature looks pretty nifty, though, and it could help to make for a more immersive user experience in apps that it’s implemented in.