Starting today, the Apple Watch brings the new double tap gesture to fruition, hand in hand with the release of watchOS 10.1.
Once again, Apple launches a brand-new update, and this time, it’s for the Apple Watch Series. Users of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, rejoice! Things are about to get even faster and more convenient. From today onwards, the double tap gesture is available as soon as you update the software with watchOS 10.1.
With this update, you won’t need to touch the Apple Watch display to control your Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Just tap your index finger and thumb (of the hand that’s wearing the watch) together twice, and you can quickly perform many of the most common actions. This new feature is yet another addition to already existing gestures of the Apple Watch, such as tap, swipe, raise to wake, and cover to mute.
What does the double tap gesture let you do?
First and foremost, what’s important to note is, as we’ve mentioned above, you won’t need to touch the display. So if you’ve got a steaming cup of coffee in hand, or if you’re in the midst of cooking that demands full attention, but you’ve received an important notification… well, all you have to do is tap your watch hand twice!
Here’s everything you can do on your Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with the new double tap gesture:
- Open the Smart Stack and scroll through widgets in the Stack
- Answer and hang up phone calls
- View a message from a notification
- Scroll through longer notifications (with an additional double tap!)
- Reply using dictation
- Sending a message
- Pause, resume and end a timer
- Stop and resume a stopwatch
- Snooze an alarm
- Play and pause music, podcasts, and audiobooks
- Switch to the new Elevation view in the Compass app
- Take an iPhone photo with the Camera Remote in the Camera app
- Start or stop automatic Workout reminders
Is there room for customisation at all?
Absolutely! The double tap gesture was designed to automatically select the primary action for most apps and notifications. But in two instances, you can even select a different function: advance through widgets in the Smart Stack or selecting the first available widget; and also play or pause media during an active session, or skip to the next track instead.
The double tap gesture works anytime the Apple Watch display is awake, and it is also available all day long with minimal impact to the 18-hour battery life (on Apple Watch Series 9) or the 36-hour battery life (on Apple Watch Ultra 2). So, rest assured that you can be double-tapping all day and it won’t compromise the battery!
Do note that the watchOS 10.1 requires iPhone XS or later running iOS 17. The double tap gesture is enabled by default on Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 that’s running on watchOS 10.1, with no additional setup required.
Apple Watch Series 8 vs Series 9: Is It Worth The Upgrade?
(All photos by Apple)
