10 Futuristic Smartphone Features That Will Appear Soon

7. Hidden Liquid Buttons That Rise Out Of The Screen

It feels like a lifetime ago now that I said I would never buy a smartphone which doesn't have a physical keyboard built into it. A few years on, and I find myself instinctively tapping the display on my (non-touchscreen) PC monitor rather than reaching for the keyboard and mouse. But even though I've now been indoctrinated into the touchscreen cult, there is still something to be said for the tactility of physical buttons.

While a mechanical slide-out keyboard now feels like it belongs more in a steampunk novel than today's slick reality, Tactus Technology has created a keyboard that looks and works like something extra-terrestrial. It uses a technology called microfluidics, which channels small amounts of liquid into invisible pockets that rest over the keyboard on your device. When you bring up your touchscreen keyboard, these pockets instantaneously fill with liquid, turning into raised physical buttons.

This otherworldy-looking technology has just been released as a pricey case for the iPad Mini called the Phorm, but we'd love to see it integrated into devices in the future. This tech could definitely play a role in turning your smartphone into a true buttoned-up gaming controller.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/7tcawBX41VU

 
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Contributor

Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.