May 31, 2026, Berlin – A string of innovative capacitive touch technologies and chips have debuted across Europe and the United States in the first half of 2026, targeting fast-growing automotive cockpits and foldable electronics markets.

In April this year, French tech firm Nanomade partnered with Germany's PolyIC to release the world's first fully transparent thin film that integrates capacitive multi-touch and pressure sensing functions. The single-layer structure replaces traditional multi-layer lamination processes, enabling accurate touch control under wet hands or gloved operations and effectively reducing accidental touch errors. The new material is applicable to hidden automotive central control panels, smart home glass surfaces and medical devices. Sample deliveries to European automakers will kick off in the third quarter of 2026, with mass vehicle installation scheduled for 2027.

Global touch IC giants have also rolled out upgraded products. Microchip from the US launched the maXTouch M1 series automotive touch controllers, which support irregularly shaped screens up to 34 inches. The chips greatly boost signal-to-noise ratio and tackle false touch issues brought by display noise on extra-large automotive screens, and have been adopted by multiple European and American new energy vehicle brands. Synaptics' new foldable touch control chips have entered mass production, optimizing signal interference at folding creases for OLED foldable smartphones.

European automakers are actively promoting solid-state hidden touch interiors. A joint solution developed by South Korea's Mobase Electronics and US firm UltraSense combines capacitive multi-touch with force detection, eliminating physical buttons inside vehicles. The product complies with the EU's 2026 automotive human-machine interaction safety standards and has been mass-equipped on mainstream global SUV models.