Capacitive Touchscreens
Capacitive touchscreens make use of the fact that the human body is conductive to detect touch. There are two types of capacitive ITO touchscreens, the surface and projected capacitive.
While the surface capacitive screens use an electrode in each corner to detect touch, the projected capacitive screens use a matrix of capacitors to project an electrostatic field which allows the screens to detect touch.
Capacitive screens are most used in consumer electronics such as laptops, phones and tablets due to their ability to register multiple touches simultaneously and longer life, they also have a higher visible transmission of around 90 percent.
The downsides of capacitive screens are the increased cost, the decreased flexibility of use and they are more susceptible to water and dust damage.
Resistive Touchscreens
Resistive touchscreens, which rely on the mechanical pressure exerted by the finger or stylus to detect movement, is the most common type of touchscreen in use, due to its lower price and ease of use.
These screens usually use two layers with a small gap between them, the outer layer is usually a clear polycarbonate layer while the inside layer is rigid and often made of glass or PET film.
Resistive screens are most commonly used in manufacturing, ATMs and medical technology. Due to the way they are designed the screens are typically single touch devices, only capable of reading a single touch at a time but are capable of being used while wearing gloves unlike most capacitive screens.
The downside of resistive touch screens is of course increased glare due to the extra reflective surfaces and less accurate input.