Apple Watch Series 9: Tip gesture available for everyone

The Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 have only just been launched on the market. Now a new function is already coming into play. It is available with the new update (watchOS 10.1).

How does it work and what is possible

With the double tap gesture, you tap the index finger and thumb of the hand on which you are wearing the watch together twice. However, the watch face must be facing upwards and, depending on the function, you should already be in the right app. Then you have numerous options, such as the following:

• Accept or end phone calls
• Answer messages by dictation
• Start camera self-timer
• Pause, resume or end timer
• Pause or resume stopwatch
• Set alarm clock to snooze (I find this very dangerous ;D)
• Play or pause music (if you wish, you can also set the function to skip songs instead)
• Play or pause podcasts and audio books
• Switch compass to altimeter
• Switch torch between three modes (white light, red light and flashing white light)
• Notifications: Execute primary action

Some functions can also be customised so that you can either scroll or explicitly select in the menu by double-tapping, for example. I would also find a combination of double and triple taps practical. Otherwise I always get stuck in the menu or in the app at some point.

I find skipping songs in Apple Music practical, especially when I only have one hand free. Third-party apps should also work, but I haven't had any luck with Spotify yet. I also can't scroll through the settings yet. The self-timer on the smartphone camera was ultimately my favourite.

How does the watch recognise my gesture?

The function is made possible by the new S9 chip that Apple has installed. The data from the accelerometer, gyroscope (which recognises tilting movements) and optical heart sensor are used. The feature is therefore not available on the two new Watch models. In the following video, I demonstrate three of the functions for you.

Note: The first version of this article was published on 5 October. I have now updated it with the information that the watchOS version is available for all users. Comments that are older than the current version of the article refer to the previous version.