TouchTap™ by InputDynamics is a new user interface; it's a software-only upgrade for smartphones and tablets, which uses the existing handset hardware. TouchTap™ scans the microphone and other sensors' streams for taps (single/double/triple) imparted by the user anywhere on the handset, to implement commands and shortcuts quickly.

The smartphone user experience (UX), since the introduction of the full touchscreen user interface (UI) of the first iPhone in 2007, has hardly changed; in the main, we still select and type with the index finger and pinch to zoom.

There are two fundamental shortcomings with the traditional touchscreen-centred UI as follows:

• the hand holding the device is generally passive and underutilized (unless the user is using both hands to input text or playing a game with two thumbs, or perhaps taking a selfie); and

• it is not easy to invoke shortcuts.

TouchTap™ software makes mobile handsets smarter by adding soft-key buttons anywhere on the casework without the need for new hardware.

Here are a few examples of UX enhancements actions enabled by TouchTap™ when tapping on the back of the handset:

• quickly switch between lower and upper case whilst typing or swyping;

• select the text, as usual, then single tap to copy or doubletap to cut, locate the cursor in the new place and finally single tap to paste;

• take a selfie single-handed;

• or implement a shortcut like launching a particular app.