watchOS 10.1 Brings Double Tap to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2

Apple recently released watchOS 10.1, with support for the much-ballyhooed double-tap gesture that selects the primary action in many apps without requiring that you touch the screen!

You might think that it is available only on the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, where you activate it by raising your wrist and tapping your thumb and index finger together twice, but I am gonna tell you how to activate it on your older Apple Watch, too.   For those with Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2:  On the main Apple Watch screen, a double tap opens the Smart Stack of widgets you would otherwise get by turning the Digital Crown, and subsequent double taps advance through the widgets. A double tap also activates the primary action in many apps, such as answering and ending phone calls, playing and pausing media, viewing and scrolling through messages, ending timers, stopping and resuming the stopwatch, snoozing an alarm, responding to reminders from the Workout app, and performing the primary action from notifications. Whenever you double tap, you’ll see this icon at the top of the screen. If you have a supported Apple Watch model, give it a try!

 

To activate pretty much the same actions on your older Apple Watch you have to go to Settings > Accessibility > Quick Actions.

Switch AssistiveTouch on and then Customize actions by choosing Hand Gestures. The Quick Actions feature lets you tap your index and thumb together to dismiss a notification, snap a photo, or answer a call. When in an app or when a notification appears, the edge of the screen will go blue, and an alert will appear on the top that gives directions, like “Dismiss Double Pinch or “Double pinch to take photo.” AssistiveTouch adds more functionality. If you double-clench your fist, you’ll open the Action Menu. The Action Menu houses options for mimicking a Digital Crown press, a side button press, or opening Apple Pay.

You navigate the menu by moving through the list with a single pinch or backward with a double pinch. When you want to mimic a tap on the highlighted button, do a single fist clench. AssistiveTouch would allow you to go from the watch face to the Home Screen with apps, open an app, scroll through it and select further functions, open the app switcher, and move to a previously opened app. Compared to Double Tap on the Series 9 or Ultra 2, Quick Actions seems a bit  more limited but it is still very cool to tap your fingers together to dismiss an unwanted message or call.

Similar Posts

  • Motorcycling down here is sort of boring. I have my bike all tuned up but there is literally only one road and the fastest speed limit in Key West is 30mph. I think we may have to trade in Grace’s Vespa to get a real motorcycle for her so we can take some longer trips down here.

    Pitchers and catchers reported for spring training and the Cubs Kyle Schwarber is already breaking windshields in Arizona at the Cubs park. Maybe this year?

    Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

    Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,

    _Don, Emily, & Hadley_

  • Sonos and Apple Music

    A little over a week ago things became official: Apple Music is now available to those who use “**Sonos.**”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/?mmfg%5B0%5D=Sonos For some of us this wasn’t a huge announcement. I have been using the beta version now for several months and have been enjoying my Apple Music playlists as well as my own personal play lists on my iPhone. I have been a huge fan of Sonos for about two years and not being able to listen to Apple Music was my one complaint about the system, but not anymore!

    Apple Music isn’t the only great thing about Sonos either, did you know that you can also control your Sonos system from your computer? I admit, I didn’t realize this at first. With a huge focus on how easy the system is to set up and control from your iPad or iPhone, this is one feature that’s often overlooked. With a simple “App download”:http://www.sonos.com/controller-app on your computer, you can open up your entire (in most cases) music library for listening through your Sonos system. Another great feature of the Sonos App is the ability to set a sleep timer. If your someone who enjoys falling asleep to music, but prefers it doesn’t stay on all night this is a huge feature even if it is a bit hidden. The more info icon within the Sonos App hides a lot of features, including the sleep timer.

  • Choosing the Best AI Chatbot for Your Needs

    Questions about AI from our clients keep coming in, with many asking which tools to choose. It’s understandable confusion—the number of AI chatbots…