Haptic Feedback Technology to Redefine Entertainment in 2025

Advances in haptic feedback technology are set to open new possibilities in entertainment. Next year will see refined technologies that stimulate multiple senses simultaneously, creating a more immersive and engaging user experience. Here, we’ve discussed the latest breakthroughs in haptics and how they will impact the consumer market in 2025.

What is Haptic Feedback?

Haptics are a technology that replicates sensations of touch through the use of vibrations, motions, and other forces. This can simulate deeper levels of immersion in entertainment, especially if paired with VR or AR headsets. Previously, this has been used in 4D cinema experiences, whereby auditorium seats rigged with haptics could blast air, rattle, tilt, or shock audiences in sync with the action on screen. 

Stimulating senses is an essential requirement of digital entertainment. For example, online roulette play is defined by its elements such as rattling ball effects and atmospheric casino sounds. When used in conjunction with live dealers, the experience is both immersive and satisfying. Haptics have the potential to make such experiences even more engaging, especially when applied through the following technologies.

Haptic Audio Headsets

While the first haptic headsets were released in 2017, early models were criticized by users for being too bulky, too expensive, and lacking in sensory range. Recent years have seen all of these issues addressed, and several manufacturers have now released affordable haptic audio headsets to the market.

Recently, Razer released the Kraken 4 Pro haptic headset to market. The headset is the first to use Sensa HD technology, which automatically interprets audio output to distribute haptics that suggest directionality, distance, and event locations. Its use of THX Spatial Audio also provides eight-channel surround sound, which is bound to be loved by fans of action films.

Haptic Vests

Another exciting technology that has made major strides in the last year is the haptic vest. While these also see haptic audio elements integrated into the fabric, there are also several transducers spread throughout to simulate forces. Often, these convert audio input into tactile effects, so an explosion in a Mission Impossible film could produce a simultaneous blast across the user’s body.

Set for release in 2025, the bHaptics haptic vest has 32 motors located around the chest, back, and abdomen of the vest, and can be paired with VR headsets for an even more immersive experience.

Samsung’s Haptic Mobile Tech

Recently, Samsung filed a new patent that seeks to implement more precise haptic feedback into its smartphone screens. According to the patent, the technology integrates multiple vibrating motors across the phone that are synchronized with pressure sensors. Depending on the technology’s efficacy, it could even produce the sensation of pressing physical buttons or other textures. While haptics have been integrated into smartphones since 2008, they haven’t evolved much since then. 

These new advances could completely redefine how we use our phones and open untapped avenues for tactile apps. Paired with the haptic vests and haptic audio headsets featured in this guide, we predict that immersive entertainment is set to reach new heights in 2025.