The Google Pixel 9 series has many upgrades, both in terms of software and hardware. While Google has detailed most of them, there's one that the company didn't talk about, which is Adaptive Touch. Android Authority spotted this feature upon doing a deep dive into the phone's Settings, and it makes the touchscreen easier to use.

As Android Authority notes, Adaptive Touch is in the Display section of Settings, and the feature can be toggled in the Touch Sensitivity menu. It's said to be enabled by default, and it can automatically adjust the touch sensitivity of the Pixel 9 phone by considering a couple of factors.

In the Touch Sensitivity menu, Google describes that Adaptive Touch will consider the "environment, activities, and screen protector." Android Authority confirms that the feature also considers wet fingers. The outlet has also compared the touch response of Pixel 8 Proand Pixel 9 with the feature turned on.

Per the test, the difference is quite noticeable, with the Google Pixel 9 handling wet fingers much better than the Pixel 8 Pro (128 GB curr. $889.97 on Amazon). Android Authority further mentions that scrolling with wet fingers feels natural, whereas there are certain jumps and pans on the last-gen smartphone.

This confirms that the report from March of this year was correct. As we covered back then, Google was working to add the new display touch feature on Android 14, and the QPR3 Beta 1 had references to it. Of course, while Adaptive Touch is new to the Pixel line, it has been on some other smartphones for a while now.

For example, OnePlus has something similar called Aqua Touch on OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R. Like Adaptive Touch, OnePlus's adaptation also increases the touch sensitivity when the display detects wet fingers. As for why Google decided not to talk about the feature during the Pixel 9 series launch, it's likely because the announcement already covered a lot of details.

Another thing to note is that Adaptive Touch seems to require some hardware support, as there's no sign of it getting implemented in the Pixel 8 series or its predecessors.