Digitizers allow your device to recognize when and where you touch the screen. Digitizers themselves do not produce your device's visuals—that's the job of the display panel.

They can usually be identified by a large glass panel, and a digitizer ribbon cable that connects it to the rest of the device.

A growing number of modern devices, such as the iPhone, are combining the digitizer and the display panel into a single display assembly. This means that if either component fails, you need to replace the entire assembly.