Google released quick and useful gestures with Android 12 in 2021. With a simple double-tap gesture on the back of the phone, you can take a quick screenshot, pause/play media, and perform multiple actions without interact with your phone. Here’s how you can customize and use quick tab gestures on Android.
Back tap gestures are part of the accessibility add-ons on iPhone. With Android 12, Google has added the same to all Android phones. The company is pushing the feature further with the flashlight option in Android 13. The next time you want to find your seats in a dark movie theater, double tap back and activate the flashlight. Let’s configure it and make the necessary changes.
Enable Quick Grip Gesture on Android
Assuming you have updated to Android 13 on your Android phone, you can enable this option. To enable quick squeeze gestures on your Android phone, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Swipe up from your Android phone’s home screen to open the app drawer.
2nd step: Open Settings with a familiar gear icon.
Step 3: Scroll down to System.
Step 4: Select Gestures.
Step 5: Select “Quick press to start actions”.
Step 6: Enable the “Use Quick Tap” toggle in the next menu.
Quick Actions on Android
You can perform only one action at a time on the back of an Android phone. Here are all the options available for quick tap gestures.
Step 1: Head to the Gestures menu in Android settings (refer to the steps above).
2nd step: Tap “Quick tap to start actions”.
Here are the following options to use with a quick tap.
- Take a screenshot
- Activate the Google Assistant
- Play or pause media content
- View recent apps menu
- Show Notifications
- Toggle Flashlight
You can set the flashlight to turn it on or off without unlocking the phone. Taking screenshots by double tapping the phone is also a nice addition. If you stream a lot of music and videos from your Android phone to a smart speaker or TV, use the quick squeeze gesture to play or pause media content. Few would find the recent apps and display notification options useful with the back gestures.
Open a specific app with a quick gesture
Android also lets you launch frequently used apps with quick gestures. If you use apps like Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat throughout the day, make a few changes to the settings to open your favorite apps with just a tap of your back.
Step 1: Go to the Gestures menu in Android settings (check the steps above).
2nd step: Select “Quick press to start actions”.
Step 3: Scroll down and tap the radio button next to “Open app”.
Step 4: Select the Settings cogwheel.
Step 5: Select your preferred application from the following menu.
You can even assign the back tap gesture to open a specific task in the app.
Step 6: Tap the settings gear next to an app to check the available actions.
Step 7: Select what happens when you open this app using Quick Tap.
For example, when you select Google Calendar, you can choose from new reminders, new events, and new task actions. Similarly, you can open a new tab or incognito mode in Google Chrome via a quick tap gesture.
For supported apps, you’ll notice a settings gear next to the app name. When you uninstall the selected app from your Android phone, Quick Tap disables itself until you select a different app or action.
Activate louder taps
Does your Android phone frequently trigger gestures and feedback actions in your pocket or bags? You need to enable stronger taps to avoid accidental taps on your phone.
Step 1: Head to the Gestures menu in Settings (check the steps above).
2nd step: Select “Quick press to start actions”.
Step 3: Enable the “Require stronger keystrokes” toggle.
Our experience with quick tap gestures on Android
While using Android 13 on Pixel 6, we noted that the Quick Tap gestures are quite accurate. There were a few hiccups due to a thick, sturdy casing. However, removing the case solved the problem. Your phone also vibrates to trigger the action due to the tap feedback. In future updates we would like to see triple tap gestures to unlock more action via back gestures on your Android phone.
Navigate your Android phone with quick gestures
While there are unofficial third-party apps like Tap, Tap to perform such gestures, nothing comes close to Google’s implementations on Android. How do you plan to use Quick Tab gestures on Android? Share your workflow in the comments below.