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Starting with the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, there is a feature called Double Tap. This handy new feature allows you to control your watch with a simple hand gesture. Find out exactly how Double Tap on Apple Watch works and how to enable it.
Why You’ll Love This Tip:
- Interact with notifications, answer calls, pause music, etc., hands-free.
- Stop timers and snooze alarms with a pinching gesture.
How to Enable the Apple Watch Double Tap Feature
System Requirements
This tip works on the Apple Watch Series 9 and 10, as well as the Ultra 2 as long as they are updated to watchOS 10.1 or newer. Find out how to update to the latest version of watchOS.
When will Double Tap be available on Apple Watch? Starting with watchOS 10.1, you can control your Apple Watch with a hand gesture. You can pause and play music, stop timers and snooze alarms, or interact with notifications just by tapping your thumb and forefinger together twice in a pinching motion. If you have an older Apple Watch, you can try enabling AssistiveTouch for a similar effect. Now, here’s how to use Double Tap on Apple Watch:
- Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch, and tap Gestures.
![apple watch settings app with gestures circled in red]()
- Tap Double Tap.
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- Ensure the toggle next to Double Tap is enabled.
![apple watch double tap settings with double tap toggle circled in red]()
- You can scroll down and select how Double Tap controls media Playback…
![apple watch double tap settings with playback menu options (play/pause and skip) circled in red]()
- …as well as how it interacts with Smart Stack widgets.
![apple watch double tap settings with smart stack menu options (advance and select) circled in red]()
- Whenever you use the Double Tap gesture, you will feel two small vibrations like two taps on your wrist. This indicates you have successfully used the Double Tap gesture. It will also highlight the control that was selected with Double Tap. In this example, it's the stop timer button.
![apple watch timer done screen with dimmed background, the stop button highlighted and a red box around it]()
That's how to set up the Double Pinch on Apple Watch. With the Apple Watch’s Double Tap feature, you can interact with your device and navigate hands-free. I find this most useful to stop timers or pause music when only my left hand is free. Next, find out how to set up a training load on Apple Watch.
