iPhone and iPod Touch Front Glass – What is a Digitizer?

The touch screen portion of the front glass of an iPod or iPhone is commonly called the digitizer in technical terms. The digitizer is a clear piece that is the size of the iPod LCD screen and spans the full length and width of the clear portion of the front glass. As you press on the front glass the digitizer converts analog signals generated by your fingertip into digital signals this is what produces the touch capability. The digitizer is typically fused to the front glass of such models as the iPod Touch and iPhone. Digitizers have revolutionized how people use electronics. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to scroll through documents with our fingers, use our fingers to zoom in on pictures, or tap the front of our screen and get a reaction.

Digitizers have made life easier for the great majority of people who use them in their electronics. For example, scrolling through documents used to require that you use a scroll wheel or click mouse in order to do it quickly. Nowadays people accomplish the same functionality with a flick of their fingers on the screen of the digitizer. Because a digitizer lies on top of the LCD screen, it is usually the first item to get damaged. If you bash the iPod, iTouch or whatever piece of electronics is using the digitizer too hard, you will also damage the LCD screen below it.

Digitizers can be replaced in Apple products such as the iPhone and iPod Touch (iTouch). The latest generation iPhone 2G, 3G, and 3Gs along with the iPod Touch 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation models have digitizer enabled touch features. The digitizer has also been introduced into many of the latest Smartphone’s and touch screen electronics on the market place. Touch operated devices use a digitizer to allow for touch functionality.

The Digitizers for iPhone and iPod Touch devices are very delicate. When you purchase a replacement Digitizer the front glass or outer glass will be attached. You will need to use caution when trying to replace any front glass on an iPod or iPhone. There are many repair centers available that can offer service on your front glass or digitizer for an affordable price. Repair Sharks offers full front glass repair service for iPod Touch and iPhone. If you decide to try to replace it yourself it is recommended to practice extreme care if you attempt to repair one of your iPod or iPhone units. Causing damage to the digitizer or digitizer cable on an iPhone or iPod Touch will cause your unit to stop functioning properly and you will need to replace the digitizer.

Digitizers can vary in price for the individual part. If you send it into a repair shop, the price will be slightly higher although being that you may damage other parts in the process the small repair fee might save you a great deal of anguish. If you decide to perform a digitizer replacement yourself then it is advised to speak to a professional to order the correct parts for your model as each model has different hardware.

For Parts or Repair of your iPod or iPhone Repair Sharks can help
Visit our website: www.repairsharks.com
iPod Touch 2G Digitizer Back Side
iPod Touch Front Glass and Digitizer Back Side

22 thoughts on “iPhone and iPod Touch Front Glass – What is a Digitizer?

  1. Daniel says:

    Very well explained here. Can we also call the touch portion of other phones like HTC, nokia, and other touch ones as digitizer?

  2. Alicia says:

    My lower part of the screen is not working. The screen glass and LCD work perfectly, I was wondering if anyone knew If the digitizer can be purchased with out the LCD replacement?

  3. Leonard says:

    Now I learned something new about ipod. I never know that it has a part called digitizer. My new ipod needs a digitizer. I am going to buy it.

  4. Javier says:

    ok, so my itouch 1g has stopped working. When I touch the screen, it wont respawn to my command, but if I touch the home button the screen lights up (When it’s charged) if I hold the top button, it asks me to slide to power off or cancel, but I cant do that Because My screen doesn’t respawn.

    My question is that is this the work of a broken digitizer or is it something else?

    • Repair Sharks says:

      No, the glass on most models is different. They will not work unfortunately. We have the correct parts in stock if you need. Give us a call at 516-499-6892 m-f 10am-7 or sat 11am-3pm. Thanks, Repair Sharks

  5. Bonni says:

    My son dropped his Iphone 3gs and the front glass shattered. The phone still works perfectly it’s just that the glass is broken and pieces are starting to fall out. Do we need the glass including the digitizer, even though the phone still works? or just replace the glass portion?
    Thanks so much 🙂

  6. James Bradley says:

    My Ipod shows A completely white blank screen and does not respond to touch but when I recharged it after leaving to run down the Battery it started working again except the colour on the screen was different so does that mean the digitizer is faulty

  7. brittney says:

    so my i pod 4gthe front glass shattered. the glass is broken and pieces are starting to fall out. Do i need the glass including the digitizer or just a digitizer

  8. svetlana says:

    my nephew dropped iphone into the toilet. the touch screen doesn’t work so i cant get in and see how messed up it is. it charges but wont turn off. if i change the front and put in a new digitizer will it work or is it the wet wires?

  9. Tiara Perry says:

    My ipod touch screen stopped working when I went on vacation. When I got home I was able to connect it to itunes and restore it back to factory settings but that didn’t help like I thought it would.
    I can still cut it on and sync it up to itunes, and i don’t get a white screen. Everything except the touch screen works perfectly. I tried replacing the screen today but it was still unresponsive. Is it my ipod that isn’t working or was it the new screen that I ordered?

    • slacker29 says:

      Hello, sounds like you might be having a LCD issue. It could be something with just the LCD or it could be the logic board causing a problem. Did you happen to get it wet? Send it in for diagnostics, we are very good with all the Touch models. Thanks!

  10. Cianna Robles says:

    I just dropped my iPod touch 4th generation on the floor, the screen and the bottom where the home button is really cracked. Will this effect the touch screen and how much will it cost to get it nicely repaired?

  11. jtxl says:

    I have a 2nd gen touch that does not power up. There are a few bubbles behind the glass. Will the bubbles keep the digitizer from working correctly? I am considering using it to repair another one but I can’t power it up to check.

    • admin says:

      Actually the iPod 2nd generation has a separate Digitizer and LCD. If you are seeing bubbles behind the glass the Digitizer may be damaged or their may be dust / debri, on the LCD. The bubbles shouldn’t be there however if the touch is working properly I don’t think it will be an issue.

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