Buttons on smartphones could soon be a thing of the past
“Touch screens are great, but (phone makers) hadn’t been able to figure out how to add interactivity to the sides. With the thinner and thinner form factors, perhaps even all glass or with funky metallic edges that are really, really thin, there’s no space for buttons.”-Jess Lee, founder, Sentons
Sentons is also working on a virtual jogwheel that will make it easier for those with large screened phones to scroll through apps. It also is prepping a virtual shutter button for handsets that will allow a phone’s camera to focus with a light tap of the virtual shutter. Lee sees a need for Sentons’ technology on smart devices with limited screen sizes; for example, he says that it could be employed on the frames of smart glasses and on the bands of smartwatches. He also can see car makers putting his company’s sensors on automobile steering wheels.
The company currently has 50 employees and has raised $37.7 million from venture capital firms.