There is a gap in vibration feedback. What are the differences between the motors in mobile phones?

Recently, two new flagships from the Android camp were released. Before the press conference, Smartisan R1 revealed that it would be equipped with a linear motor, which made fans extremely excited. The real machine also supports a pressure-sensitive screen, which made fans even more excited.

OnePlus has been using linear motor configuration since OnePlus 5, and the new flagship OnePlus 6 naturally cannot be without it. In addition, the mEngine polished by Meizu 15 has received positive reviews from users a while ago. It seems that the issue of linear motor and feedback has always been a factor of concern to users.

Recently, the experience of linear motors and the pros and cons of the tactile feedback experience between mobile phones is also a new aspect that users are very concerned about. It is also a point that I personally feel may be developed in the era of full-screen phones.

However, I always feel that I don’t understand the difference between motors, so I sorted out the categories of motors in mobile phones to help myself and everyone else sort out their thoughts.

First of all, the motors in mobile phones are divided into two categories: rotor motors and linear motors.

The so-called rotor motor is similar to the motor seen on four-wheel drive vehicles. It uses the same principle as the traditional motor, using electromagnetic induction to drive the rotor to rotate and vibrate using the magnetic field caused by electric current.

As you can imagine, due to the structure shown in the figure, the rotor motor has a slow start response and weak brake sensitivity, which gives people a feeling of being unresponsive. Moreover, the vibration is non-directional, and the volume, especially the thickness, is difficult to control. This should be the source of most of the previous or current mobile phone call vibrations.

The principle of a linear motor is somewhat different. Similar to the feeling of a pile driver, a linear motor is actually a spring mass that moves in a linear form, converting electrical energy directly (note: directly) into a starting module for linear motion mechanical energy.

Linear motors are more compact, thinner, and more energy-efficient, but they are more expensive than rotor motors.

At present, there are two main types of linear motors: lateral linear motors (XY axis) and circular linear motors (Z axis).

To put it simply, if you think of the screen as the ground you are currently standing on, you are a point on the screen. Take yourself as the origin, establish the X-axis with your left and right directions, the Y-axis with your front and back directions, and the Z-axis with your up and down (looking up and down).

The lateral linear motor is what can propel you forward, backward, left, and right without leaving the ground (XY axis), while the circular linear motor can vibrate you up and down like an earthquake (Z axis).

The circular linear motor has a shorter stroke, weaker vibration force, and shorter duration. In short, it does not feel as good as the transverse linear motor, but it is much better than the rotor motor.

The cost of a transverse linear motor is several times that of an ordinary motor solution (three times that of Meizu) and is generally larger in size, occupying the space that the battery should occupy, and requiring higher design layout and power consumption control of the device.

Moreover, it is more difficult to stack lateral linear motors , and the corresponding algorithm support also requires a longer cycle for tuning.

Judging from the feedback from several current mobile phone manufacturers and most users:

*** tier: Apple, Meizu.

As early as 2015, Apple equipped its own 3D Touch with a solution called TAPTIC ENGINE on the iPhone 6s/6s Plus, which was equipped with an LRA linear motor (horizontal) costing up to $10.

It was announced that physical buttons would be removed from the iPhone 7 and the touch of physical buttons would be replaced by vibration feedback. In a very short time after the launch, users' doubts at the press conference were dispelled. Some iPhone 7 or iPhone 8 users didn't even know that their phone buttons were not physical buttons.

The carefully polished Meizu 15 new flagship launched by Meizu on April 22 this year also uses its own mEngine's press feedback and is equipped with a large horizontal linear motor.

Meizu chose to continue to cooperate with Immersion (Immersion is a company that focuses on the development and licensing of tactile feedback technology) to match realistic tactile feedback effects for more than 40 scenarios of daily use. It is also the first flagship to improve the tactile feedback of Android models to the level of iPhone.

Others: Nut R1, OnePlus 6, Samsung S9

Several other flagships in the Android camp are currently only equipped with circular linear motors, whether it is the newly released Nut R1 with a pressure-sensitive touch screen and simulated touch of real buttons, OnePlus's latest flagship OnePlus 6 equipped with a linear motor as early as May 2015, or Samsung's new flagship S9 equipped with a linear motor for the first time.

During use, you can clearly feel the improvement in feedback compared to before. As long as you do it, you will feel it.

These manufacturers are all people who are determined to do big things. Although it is said that "those who achieve great things do not pay attention to details", details can often reflect the pursuit of manufacturers. Moreover, nowadays, every user pursues quality and refinement. Although the transverse linear motor cannot be directly reflected in the data like the battery capacity, the user feedback is different.

To be honest, Xiaomi Mi 6 also uses a circular linear motor. Since it is last year's model, the experience is definitely difficult to compare with the new model. In addition, there is data that the motor on Xiaomi Mi 6 costs less than $1 (the cost on iPhone is $10), so I won't go into too much detail.

It is hard to say what the future mobile phone will look like, but the user experience is the most important. Now manufacturers should stop using gimmicks to fool consumers. Whether it is good or bad, the experience will tell. The final result is still the product, not the publicity.