Apple Watch 's innovative double-tap feature is now available for Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 , with the new watchOS 10.1.
This innovative feature offers a quick and easy way to interact with your Apple Watch.
With the new double-tap feature, users can easily control Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 using just one hand and without touching the screen. By simply tapping their index finger and thumb on the watch twice together, users can quickly perform many common actions. This new feature complements existing functions such as tap, swipe, raise to wake and mute, making Apple Watch even easier to use.
See more: Apple: Releases iOS, iPadOS 17.0.2 and watchOS 10.0.2
A convenient, enjoyable experience
The double-tap feature is useful in everyday situations when the user's other hand is busy, such as walking the dog, cooking, or holding a cup of coffee. This gesture allows the user to perform various actions with ease while maintaining the functionality of their hand.
Double-tap lets you choose the primary action from a wide range of apps and notifications in watchOS.
- Open the Smart Stack from any watch face and scroll through the widgets in the stack.
- Answering and ending phone calls.
- View a message from a notification, scroll through larger notifications with an additional double tap, reply using dictation, and send a message.
- Pause, resume, and end a timer.
- Stop and restart a stopwatch.
- Alarm snooze.
- Play and pause music, podcasts , and audiobooks.
- Switch to the new Elevation view in the Compass app.
- Take an iPhone with the camera remote in the app .
- Start or stop automatic workout reminders.
- Perform the main action from notifications, such as replying to an incoming message from a messaging app and snoozing reminders — including from third parties.
Powered by S9 SiP
The double-tap feature, available on Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, is powered by the S9 SiP, which is 25% more efficient than the previous generation, and the new 4- core, which can perform machine learning tasks twice as fast.
The Neural Engine processes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart rate sensor using an innovative machine learning algorithm. The algorithm detects wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the index finger and thumb perform a double tap.
Double-tap works when the screen is on, and is available throughout the day, with minimal impact on battery life. Specifically, it offers 18 hours of battery life on the Apple Watch Series 9 and 36 hours on the Apple Watch Ultra 2.
Double-tap function adjustments
Double-tap is designed to automatically select the primary action for most apps and notifications. In both cases, the user has the option to choose between two different functions. They can browse through widgets in the Smart Stack or select the first available widget as well as play or pause media, or even skip to the next track during an active session.
See more: WatchOS 10: Brings back widgets to Apple Watch
Availability
- watchOS 10.1 is now available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later. It requires iPhone XS or later with iOS 17 to install.
- Double-tap is enabled by default on Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with watchOS 10.1, with no additional setup. It can be turned off in settings.
- The feature is not available in the following apps: ECG, Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen, Sleep Focus, Walkie-Talkie, Maps (during navigation), Mindfulness (during an active session), SOS features (Emergency SOS, Fall Detection, Collision Detection), and Workout (during an active session).
Source: apple.com
