As reported by Bloomberg, Google, without any big announcements, acquired the British startup Redux, which uses vibration to turn a display into a speaker. It is unclear when the deal was completed or how much it cost Google, but search giant Redux took over in August.
Redux has developed a number of technologies for the sound and touchscreen of mobile devices, but has never used them in a consumer product. The company brought two of its designs to MWC last year – and they turned out to be amazing. We are talking about a tablet, the display of which could act as a speaker, and several displays with tactile feedback, which imitated all kinds of buttons and sliders.
The sound quality in the first case was excellent, and the tactile feedback gave the impression that you were really pressing the real buttons. For Google the benefits are clear. Turning the display into a speaker will free up space inside the device to increase the battery. Tactile feedback, on the other hand, can be a unique feature of the Google Pixel – just like the 3D touch in iPhone.