Compared to the previous ones, watchOS 10 it turned out to be a major update that was decidedly full of new features for the Apple Watch. Some applications have been redesigned, the navigation modes have been slightly revised and there are also new features for physical activity tracking.
However, compatible Apple Watches are only now being enriched with one new gesture, Double Tappresented at WWDC23 as part of the watchOS 10 update but officially introduced with a bit of delay with the version 10.1 of the operating system released in these hours.
Apple Watch: the Double Tap gesture arrives with watchOS 10.1, now available
Only compatible with new ones Apple Watch Series 9 e Apple Watch Ultra 2with the Double Tap gesture it is possible activate some features with one handand more precisely using index finger and thumb. By tapping them twice (by pinch), the user can perform actions without even touching the displaysuch as answering a FaceTime call or video call, previewing a message you just received, managing a timer, managing the playback of multimedia content and so on.
Useful in all those situations in which the other hand is busy, the Double Tap gesture allows you to interact with the two Apple smartwatches mentioned above in this way:
- Open Smart Gallery from any watch face and swipe between different widgets.
- Answer calls or end them.
- View a message from a notification, scroll through longer notifications with another double tap, reply using Dictation, and send a message.
- Pause, resume, and stop a timer.
- Stop and resume a stopwatch.
- Delay an alarm.
- Play and pause music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
- Switch to the new Altitude view in the Compass app.
- Take a photo on iPhone with Camera Control in the Camera app.
- Start or stop automatic Workout reminders.
- Perform a primary action from notifications, such as replying to incoming messages from a messaging app and snoozing reminders (even third-party ones).
But why is this new feature only available for Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2? The answer is provided by the Cupertino giant itself, which – via the press release – explains that the gesture is based the new SiP 9 and 4-core Neural Engine, currently an exclusive of the wearables mentioned. In particular, the new generation of the Neural Engine «processes accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart rate sensor data using a new machine learning algorithm», and the latter «detects the most subtle unique wrist movements and changes in blood flow when the user double-taps with the index finger and thumb».
