Apple Watch Double-Tap Gesture Is Rolling Out Now
When Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, there wasn't a lot new to get excited about. Beyond the usual display and processor improvements, they're mostly a spot-the-difference game—except for the new double-tap gesture, which is rolling out this week.
In short, double-tap will almost serve the same function as tapping the Apple Watch screen without actually having to do that. You raise your wrist and pinch your thumb and index finger together quickly. Using that gesture, you can answer calls, open notifications, scroll through widgets, start and stop a timer, snooze an alarm, and more.
If double-tap sounds familiar, that's because Apple Watches technically have something like it already called Assistive Touch, but you have to dig into your device's accessibility settings to turn it on. With the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, Apple decided to turn the double-tap gesture on by default for everyone.
It's only coming to the latest Apple Watches (for now at least) because Apple says the new S9 SIP is necessary to get the best experience. With the S9, Apple says the Watch is 15% more accurate at detecting a double-tap gesture while using less power.
In her testing, PCMag's Angela Moscaritolo describes double-tap as reliable and immediately envisioned using it during tasks where she might not have both hands free. Angela also tried to create false positives and found that the Watch understood the difference between double-tapping, snapping, and similar movements.
My experience is much the same; I've yet to have the gesture fail so long as I was on a screen where it worked, and I haven't had it fire off when I didn't intend it either. Time will tell if the new feature does take a toll on battery life,
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