Why do DS pens/stylus work on DS screens but not on phone screens?

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Why do DS pens/stylus work on DS screens but not on phone screens?

In: Technology

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Older touch screens detect *pressure*. You could use literally anything as a stylus, as long as it was applying enough pressure for the device to detect it.

Newer touch screens detect *changes in an electrical field*, which means that when any electrically-conductive material (like a fingertip) even just barely touches them, that’s all it needs. This means that any stylus needs to be conductive as well (most have a soft tip with a conductive material inside so they don’t risk scratching the screen). An old plastic stylus doesn’t conduct electricity, so it’s not detected.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Nintendo DS use resistive touch screens. These work by having a few very thin layers, and when you touch it you bend the top layer into the bottom layer and thus the screen knows where you touch.
Most phones use a capacitive touch screen these generally have two layers and look for an electrical field change. And as we conduct electricity really well it senses the change to know where we are touching.
DS styluses are plastic which insulates electricity instead of conducting it, so the phone screen doesn’t see it.