One of the two primary types of touchscreen displays (along with resistive) employed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and similar electronic devices. The Apple iPhone is the most popular example of a capacitive touchscreen-based device.

Capacitive touch screens distinguish and sense specific touch location based on the electrical impulses in a human body, typically the fingertip. This enables capacitive touchscreens to not require any actual force to be applied to the screen’s surface; at the same time, capacitive screens typically don't respond to styluses or gloved hands due to the lack of electrical impulses generated.

Capacitive touch gets its name from the electrical distortion that results in the screen's capacitive field when impressed upon by body capacitance, or the physical property of the human body that enables it to act as an electrical capacitor, or conductor of electric charges.