Ways to customize Double Tap on your Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2

Apple

The Double Tap feature on your Apple Watch Series 9 or Watch Ultra 2 offers a convenient way to interact with your device. While it currently has some limitations, it still provides useful functionality. Right now, it's limited to audio playback and the Smart Stack. The Smart Stack, introduced in watchOS 10, is a collection of widgets accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen or using the Digital Crown.

To customize these categories, follow these steps:

• Open the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone.
• Navigate to Gestures > Double Tap.
• Then choose from the available options, a.k.a. Playback and Smart Stack.

You can choose between two actions for audio playback:

• Pinch gesture: The default behavior for play/pause.
• Skip to the next track: Change this setting if you prefer skipping to the next track while listening to music or podcasts.

Now, if you want to use it for the Smart Stack feature, you can decide how Double Tap interacts with the Smart Stack:

• Advance: Each tap moves to the next widget (the default action).
• Select: The first widget is selected with a subsequent tap.

After activating Double Tap, you can explore these functionalities:

• Audio playback: Pause/resume playback or skip to the next track (based on your chosen setting).
• Phone calls: Answer or hang up calls directly from your watch.
• Notifications: Initiate primary actions from alerts (including third-party apps).
• Smart Stack navigation: Scroll through widgets from any watch face.
• View messages: Read full messages when you receive new texts.
• Reply to messages: Use voice dictation to reply; a second Double Tap confirms sending.
• Read longer notifications: If an alert doesn’t fit entirely on the screen, double-tap again to scroll through it.
• Alarm and stopwatch control: Snooze alarms or stop/resume a stopwatch.
• Timers management: Pause (if running), resume (if paused), or end timers.
• Remote shutter for photos: Capture photos on your iPhone using the Apple Watch’s Camera Remote.
• Workout reminders: Start or stop automatic Workout reminders based on detected activity.

When you use Double Tap, a blue hand icon appears at the top of your watch’s screen. If you try double-tapping something incompatible with this feature, the icon playfully shakes back and forth as if saying, "No."

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