Qualcomm partners Lofelt to bring iPhone-like haptic feedback to Androids

Touch any recent iPhone, and the first thing that you will likely notice aside from the fluidity of the UI is the taut, precise haptic feedback. Every interaction with haptic feedback feels so natural that it becomes addictive. That is what Qualcomm hopes to be able to bring to Android devices in their partnership with Lofelt.

What Qualcomm and Lofelt are working together on is a universal software framework and API to enhance the haptic feedback in devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets. They aren’t exactly shying away from directly mentioning Apple, in fact mentioning that the goal is to make Lofelt haptics for Android like iOS’ Core Haptics.

Once the framework has been developed, OEMs can then license it to add precise, intuitive haptic feedback to their devices. It will be quite interesting to see how Qualcomm plans to deliver the precise haptic feedback that iPhones are known for, given the huge variety of vibration motors in the market.

Google themselves are also working on improving vibrations with Android 12, so we should probably see really good haptic feedback in the future. As a whole, haptic feedback has the potential to make interactions more intuitive and also make the device feel more responsive. Aside from usual navigation, adding it to games can also make the experience a lot more immersive.

Qualcomm’s approach would provide them with an advantage versus the other chipmakers, as the competition like MediaTek and Samsung are really catching up in terms of performance. By promising a better user experience, Qualcomm will stay relevant a lot longer than just trying to deliver the fastest mobile chipset year after year.

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