You're Electric: Why Normal Gloves Don't Work On Touchscreen Devices

We've all been in this situation at least once:

It's miserably cold outside and you need your phone or other touchscreen device for some reason. Perhaps you're lost, maybe you want to text a friend, it could even be, perish the thought, to actually make a phone call. As you fumble with the touchscreen you realize that your increasingly vigorous swipes, pinches and taps are in vain. Battery dead? Nope, your device flashed to life when you pressed the physical power button. So you take off your gloves and, voila, it magically works again... then your fingers go numb.

So why don't normal gloves or mittens work with touchscreen devices?

You're electric

The answer lies in the type of screens that almost all handheld devices now use, which are known as "capacitive touchscreens". Unlike "resistive touchscreens" (think old Palm Pilots with a stylus, some points of sale machines in checkout lines, and certain screens in hospitals and restaurants), which rely on pressure against the screen to register touch, capacitive touchscreens require contact with something that can conduct electricity (e.g., your finger, certain special styli, etc) to function.

In a nutshell, capacitive touchscreens work like this: humans conduct electricity and touchscreens have an electrical charge (or field). When you touch the screen you distort the screen's electrostatic field at the point (or points) of contact which triggers the (hopefully) intended action in the device (e.g., opening an app, typing a letter, zooming in, etc). By wearing regular gloves you block your body's natural conductivity so that the charge can't pass through the glove and register on the screen.

Breaking through (non-capacitive) barriers

So how do you avoid getting frozen fingers?

To date, this issue with capacitive touchscreens has been solved by either (1) removing parts or all of the non-conductive barriers (fingerless gloves), (2) using a conductive stylus, (3) installing aftermarket adapters into the gloves or mittens (conductive buttons or sewn in conductive thread), or (4) wearing custom gloves with conductive elements or features manufactured specifically for this purpose.

Although each of these solutions has it's own drawbacks, I've found that with the increase in options in the conductive glove market, touchscreen gloves are quickly becoming the most effective (and affordable) option. Plus, if you're adventurous you can even make your own DIY touchscreen gloves by repurposing an old pair and sewing in some inexpensive conductive thread. So don't despair, you needn't have cold fingers any longer. There are now conductive gloves for every style, activity and budget.

Matthew is the founder of TouchscreenGloveReviews.com, an online resource that provides reviews, articles, and search categories to help users find the perfect touchscreen gloves for any activity, style, and budget.

To read more about touchscreen gloves and to find touchscreen glove reviews, go to http://www.touchscreenglovereviews.com/ and follow @TSGloveReviews on Twitter.

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