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Touch screens have become a stable with the mobile device industry. Ever since the first smartphones introduced the concept of reliable interface with a touch screen, almost every version of a smartphone that has succeeded it employed touchscreen as its core feature.

That is why many are wondering, is there anything out that can replace the touchscreen interface? It’s a tough proposition, since touchscreens have cemented their place firmly. However, there may be a handful of plausible alternatives. We have narrowed them down to the four which we see as most likely.

Voice control

Although in their infancy, voice control technology has emerged and it is developing fast. Voice control as still struggling to understand different accents and quick sentences, but they have reached an impressive level of reliability. With the advances so far, it may not be a far-fetched idea that voice control could one day replace touch screen.

The idea becomes even more likely when you think about the direction of the interface development. People want intuitive ways to control their phone, and there is no other natural way than speaking to your phone directly. It’s the most human level interaction we are capable of and if we can fit it on a phone, then it might replace touchscreens.

Motion tracking

Motion tracking came under the spotlight since the first introduction of augmented reality concept. The idea of the user controlling their mobile device using nothing but hand and facial gestures could be what contends with touchscreens. The proof of motion tracking’s robustness is not necessary. Time and time again, many tech firms have shown of motion tracking in their full. In fact, even laptops today come with motion tracking that includes facial recognition and hand gesture identification. Smartphones also respond to hand gestures such as swiping and panning.

Motion tracking is not a dream. The technology is already here, but we only have to wait for a company bold enough to launch a product that utilizes it fully.

Mechanical cursor

Cursors have been the most tried and true ways of controlling computers since the dawn of PC’s. However, it has been difficult to translate them over to phones as the small sizes make it nearly impossible.

This hurdle has been overcome with the recent introduction to pressure sensitive touch pads that can detect movement on a plane only a few square centimeters big. This makes mechanically operated cursors a likely feature with future phones. The only thing to be careful of is not to make the cursor too intrusive with the phone’s design. Unlike laptop computers, phones don’t have much in terms of space to host a lot of devices.

External Peripheral

The same idea of connecting your mouse and keyboard to your computer can be applied to phones as well. The only problem is, users may not be willing to connect bulky external devices to their already compact phone. It looks ugly and it can be messy managing all those things along with your phone.

However, with the recent introduction of holographic keyboards and finger controlled mice, it may not be a strange idea after all to add peripherals to your phone.

Author Bio: This article has been written by Arabellaalice . She has worked for Websberry.com since its inception and has been interested in covering technological news from the very beginning. Her passion for technology comes from her background. She is an avid programmer and an electronics hobbyist who builds gadgets in her spare time.