Incoming call? Just tap your finger and thumb together to answer it from your Apple Watch. It works to control your music and in some other apps, too.
How to Double Tap on your Apple Watch 9 – Enabling/Disabling Settings and Features
Yesterday, Apple rolled out the watchOS 10.1 update, which brings the new double-tap gesture to the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. The gesture, which Apple says is designed to be useful when your other hand is busy, lets you tap your thumb and index finger simultaneously to answer calls, control music playback, view a text message, open a Smart Stack, fire the camera shutter, and more.
The gesture uses machine learning to process data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and optical heart sensor. With that information, it can detect your wrist movements and translate them into taps on the device. Apple says the process has "minimal impact on the 18-hour battery life on Apple Watch Series 9 or 36-hour battery life on Apple Watch Ultra 2", and it works when the screen is awake, so you have to turn your wrist to wake the screen before using the gesture.
The double-tap gesture wasn’t the only feature to arrive in the watchOS 10.1 update. The new NameDrop feature, which lets you exchange contact information with your watch, is also gone. The feature is available to anyone using an Apple Watch Series 7 or later, Apple Watch SE2, and Apple Watch Ultra.
