Everything You Can Do With the Double Tap Gesture on Apple Watch

With the watchOS 10.1 update that came out today, Apple has added Double Tap to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices. Double Tap was announced when the new models were introduced, but it took some time for Apple to implement it. With Double Tap, you can activate some Apple Watch functions with just one hand.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912 Faeture Blue
Using Double Tap requires you to tap your thumb and index finger together twice, and when you do this, you'll see a little icon on the Apple Watch to let you know that the tap was recognized. Double Tap uses the sensors in the Apple Watch to detect minute movements and blood flow when the fingers are positioned in a certain way.

apple watch ultra double tap feature green
There are a number of things you can do with Double Tap, and Apple has made it work with some of the most common actions that you might need to perform with one hand.

  • Open the Smart Stack from the watch face, and then Double Tap again to scroll through widgets.
  • Answer phone or FaceTime calls.
  • Hang up phone or ‌FaceTime‌ calls.
  • When you get an iMessage, Double Tap to view it, and then Double Tap again if you need to scroll.
  • Reply to a Message using dictation and then send it with Double Tap.
  • Act on notifications - Apple says a Double Tap on an incoming notification will activate the primary action, such as snoozing a reminder or replying to a message.
  • Pause, resume, and end a timer.
  • Stop and resume the stopwatch.
  • Snooze an alarm.
  • Play and pause music, podcasts, or audiobooks (or skip a track, depending on settings).
  • Change to the Elevation view in the Compass app.
  • Start or stop automatic Workout reminders when a workout is detected.
  • Take a photo with the Camera Remote.
  • Record a voice memo in the Voice Memo app.
  • Change Flashlight modes.

In the Apple Watch app under Gestures, you can opt to change the playback option from play/pause to skip, and the Smart Stack option from Advance (swaps through the widgets) to Select (opens a widget's associated app).

While Double Tap can be used with third-party apps through incoming notifications, there is no Double Tap API for third-party apps at the current time. Developers can still customize their apps for Double Tap to an extent by assigning the action that should occur when a Double Tap gesture is used on an incoming notification.

Double Tap is limited to the Apple Watch Series 9 and the ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ because, as Apple executives said in a recent interview with Tom's Guide, the S9 chip in the new models is the first that is powerful enough for the gesture system.

To use Double Tap, ‌Apple Watch Ultra 2‌ and Apple Watch Series 9 owners will need to update their devices to watchOS 10.1 through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone. watchOS 10.1 requires an ‌iPhone‌ running iOS 17 or later.

Note that Double Tap will not work when Low Power Mode, Sleep Focus, Theater Mode, or Water Lock is activated, and you must first raise your wrist to wake the Apple Watch to perform the gesture. Double Tap also does not work on watches that are paired as a Family Setup watch.

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

cook trump

Trump Responds to Apple Keeping Diversity Policies

Wednesday February 26, 2025 6:32 am PST by
In an all-caps post on Truth Social today, U.S. President Donald Trump said Apple should fully end its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Tim Cook meeting with President Trump in 2017 "APPLE SHOULD GET RID OF DEI RULES, NOT JUST MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEM," he wrote. Trump's post comes one day after Apple held its annual shareholders meeting, during which a majority of...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.4 Will Be Released in April With These New Features

Wednesday February 26, 2025 7:15 am PST by
In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 18.4 will be released in April. From the Apple News+ Food announcement:Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to Apple News+ Food, a new section that will feature tens of thousands of recipes — as well as stories about restaurants, healthy eating, kitchen essentials, and more — from the...
iPhone Fold Vertical Feature

Apple's 2026 Foldable iPhone Has No Visible Display Crease – Report

Tuesday February 25, 2025 2:58 am PST by
Apple is making significant headway on its long-rumored foldable iPhone, with a new report suggesting the company has achieved a major breakthrough by effectively eliminating the screen crease that plagues current foldable devices. According to Korean publication ETNews, Apple is finalizing its component suppliers for the foldable iPhone, with the selection process expected to be completed...
trump iphone dictation issue

Apple Fixing 'Trump' Dictation Processing Bug

Tuesday February 25, 2025 1:18 pm PST by
Multiple iPhone owners today noticed a pronunciation processing issue that causes the word "Trump" to momentarily show up when using dictation to send a message with the word "racist." In some cases, when speaking the word racist through the iPhone's built-in dictation feature, the iPhone briefly interprets the spoken word as "Trump" and "Trump" text shows up in the Messages app before being ...
airtag orange

AirTag 2 Rumored to Launch in May or June With These New Features

Monday February 24, 2025 6:11 am PST by
Apple plans to launch a second-generation AirTag in May or June this year, according to a post today from a leaker known as Kosutami. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously reported that a new AirTag would be released in mid-2025. May or June would align with that timeframe. Below, we recap three new features rumored for the AirTag 2: With a second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, the...
airpods pro purple

Here's When AirPods Pro 3 Are Rumored to Launch

Monday February 24, 2025 9:14 am PST by
According to a post on X today from a leaker known as Kosutami, Apple plans to launch AirPods Pro 3 in May or June this year. The leaker also claimed that an AirTag 2 will launch around the same time. Kosutami is best known as a collector of prototype Apple hardware, but they have occasionally shared accurate information about Apple's future product plans. For example, they accurately...
ios 18 4 carplay

iOS 18.4 Includes a Small But Useful Change for CarPlay

Sunday February 23, 2025 2:23 pm PST by
The first beta of iOS 18.4 is now available, and it includes a small but useful change for CarPlay. As we noted in our list of iOS 18.4 features, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra, which can be equipped...

Top Rated Comments

Akrapovic Avatar
18 months ago

Sorry to be late to the party on this... So Double Tap works on other generations of Apple Watch, not just S9 and U2?
No, it does not, despite these posts.

On previous watches if you enable the Assistive Touch option in the Accessibility Features section of your watch then you can get a similar feature where hand gestures can do certain controls. This is what they're referring to. However, it isn't as fast or accurate as Double Tap, as the previous generation watches do not have the neural engine which this runs on. So yes you can do it - it just isn't quite as good. I do use this accessibility feature on my AWU.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Akrapovic Avatar
18 months ago

Why do people keep acting like this is new? This has been an accessibility feature for a long while.
Why do people keep posting this thinking their post is new? It's been a post for a long while!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Minecatt48 Avatar
18 months ago
Why do people keep acting like this is new? This has been an accessibility feature for a long while.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Skyscraperfan Avatar
18 months ago
I think the Apple Watch should also detect the "middle finger" gesture. It could be used to automatically reply with "F*** you!" to an incoming message.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Akrapovic Avatar
18 months ago

Do you have an older watch and know for a fact that Double Tap on WatchOS 10 doesn't work on it?
I think there is some confusion. The Double Tap feature is only available to Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Assistive Touch works on all current Apple Watches that support watchOS8, however it isn't as smooth or reliable as Double Tap. But this works on any watch. I've been using that for a few years.

Edit: Corrected myself. Assistive Touch works on watchOS8/9 as well of course.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
slippery-pete Avatar
18 months ago

Why do people keep acting like this is new? This has been an accessibility feature for a long while.
Did you actually try/use the accessibility feature? Comparing it to this is comparing and apple to an orange.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)