[Updated] Google Pixel touch & hold gesture too sensitive? Here's how to adjust

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on February 22, 2023) follows:

Some Google Pixel owners (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) are complaining that the touch and hold delay is too sensitive or fast on their device.

This setting controls the amount of time it takes for a tap on the screen to become a touch-and-hold.

A longer touch-and-hold delay means that one needs to keep their finger in the same location for a longer duration before the tap is registered as a touch-and-hold. A shorter one means the time delay to register will be reduced.

But some Pixel owners say that their phones often misinterpret a split-second touch of the screen as a long press. They also say that it has become difficult for them to read an article on the web or check their e-mail.

One of those affacted claims the issue surfaced after they updated their phone to the latest Android 13 OS.

Another adds that the time delay for the ‘Short’ sensitivity setting is too short and when set to ‘Medium’, the delay is too long.

Google implemented some kind of pressure sensitive algorithm to the touch panel (they achieve this by software, not hardware). If you press harder on the screen the phone will recognize it as a long press.
Source

Mine (just a P7) had been doing the same, but I thought that it was just because of my big, dumb fingers.
Source

Users have even tried changing the touch and hold sensitivity settings on their devices, but that didn’t help solve the problem.

Fortunately, we did come across a potential workaround that may help solve your problem. It is recommended that you change the delay timeout using ADB.

Using ADB, I’ve changed the delay timeout to a non-standard value and it seems to have fixed the problem for me i.e. long click delay is consistent every time: adb shell settings put secure long_press_timeout 401

We will keep an eye on the issue where the touch and hold gesture is too sensitive on Google Pixel phones and update this story as new information becomes available.

03:19 pm (IST): Google has announced a software update for March 2023 for eligible Pixel devices. It also brings broader improvements to touch performance and response.

Note: You can also check out our Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro updates & bugs/issues tracker.

Featured image source: Google Pixel 7 Pro.

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