New double tap gesture is much bigger than the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch experience got a huge upgrade this year thanks to the watchOS 10 update that’s rolling out on Monday. Moreover, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 bring a new S9 chip that should offer a much better on-device Siri experience. On top of that, the S9 System-in-Package (SiP) can recognize gestures. Apple added a new double tap gesture that works across apps and the operating system.

The feature will change how you use the Apple Watch, especially if you buy one of the two new models. Although Apple announced the double tap gesture for the new 2023 Apple Watch models, it also works on older models. Here’s how to get double tap going on your Apple Watch.

That said, I think the double tap gesture is much bigger than the Apple Watch. It’s a new way of interacting with Apple’s smart devices that relies on tracking and detecting the movement of the user. In fact, the double tap gesture on the Apple Watch will get people accustomed to using similar gestures with the upcoming Vision Pro.

Apple’s Jeff Williams introduced double tap during the Apple Watch Series 9 announcement earlier this week. The gesture will also work on the Ultra 2, as the two devices share the same S9 SiP. Here’s how double tap works:

This new gesture is enabled by the powerful neural engine in Series 9, which processes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor in a completely new way. It uses a machine learning algorithm to detect the unique signature of tiny movements and changes in blood flow when your hand and fingers perform a Double Tap.

Double tap will control the primary button in an app, so you’ll be able to use it to control any app on the screen. Apple offered various examples in its demos, like silencing an alarm, answering a call and ending it, and playing or pausing music. The ones I liked best were launching the Smart Stack from the…