Apple Watch’s ‘double tap’ gestures are magical – and useful
On supported Apple Watch models with watchOS 11 or later, you can use the double tap gesture to answer a call, reply to a message, see and scroll through your Smart Stack, scroll through supported apps, and more.
On supported Apple Watch models with watchOS 11 or later, you can use the double tap gesture to answer a call, reply to a message, see and scroll through your Smart Stack, scroll through supported apps, and more.
“Double tap” might sound like something you do to the screen, but it actually refers to the tapping of your thumb and index finger together, almost like you’re making the OK sign. The idea is that when you only have one hand free—like walking the dog, carrying groceries or pushing a stroller—you can still interact with notifications and apps on your Apple Watch. Just “tap tap” after you’ve raised your arm to wake up the Watch and you’ll take action on the active app. No more trying to free a finger from whatever else you’re doing, or tapping with your nose. I’ve found it works with other fingers combined with the thumb, but the index finger is the easiest for me, at least.
What can you use double tap to do? The answer is a limited number of things right now, but they’re all useful. If a call comes in, double tap to answer it. Pull up voice dictation to respond to a text. Snooze (notably, not cancel) an alarm going off. Play or pause your music. And for third-party apps, double tap will do the primary action if you get a notification. For example, if you get an alert from WhatsApp, you can trigger a response. For all of these, you’ll see a blue circle with a white hand inside it and feel a vibration when you double tap to know it was successful.
It may sound like a novelty, but in my initial testing I’ve found double tap to be surprisingly useful (and it feels pretty magical, too). The gesture is correctly identified every time I try it, and I haven’t had any false-positives yet in the dozens of times I’ve tried it in the past few days.
MacDailyNews Take: A bit more about “double tap” on Apple Watch:
How to customize the double tap gesture
You can choose what double tap does when playing media or navigating your Smart Stack.
Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
Tap Gestures, tap Double Tap, then choose from among these options:
– Playback: Choose Play/Pause or Skip. – Smart Stack: Choose Advance or Select. 3.Turn off Double Tap if you don’t want to use the gesture on your Apple Watch.
You can also go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, go to Settings > Gestures, then tap Double Tap.
When double tap isn’t available
If you use double tap on a screen that doesn’t support the gesture, the Double Tap icon shakes from side to side.
Note: The double tap gesture isn’t supported in the following situations:
• Low Power Mode is turned on. • Sleep Focus is active. • The display is inactive because your wrist is down. • Apple Watch is locked. • Accessibility features that use hand gestures are turned on. • Apple Watch is set up for a family member.
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