How to Trigger Actions in IOS 14 With a Tap on the Back
There are no sensors on the back of the iPhone to fiddle with – unlike, say, the Google Pixel, which has a fingerprint sensor on the back – but a new feature that debuted in iOS 14 allows you to tap on the back of your iPhone to trigger various iOS actions anyway. This “digital burp” gesture seems like magic because you’ll need a crystal ball (or this article) to even know that the feature is there.
You will need iOS 14 to play with Back Taps right now. There is no word yet on whether Apple plans to include this feature in other iOS versions before or even after iOS 14 is released to the general public this fall. If you’re curious, get the iOS 14 developer beta now, or wait for the public beta next month to give Back Taps a shot; I think it’s worth it.
Once you do that, open the app “Settings” and click “Accessibility” – there you will find some of the most interesting and not to mention iOS functions . Tap on Touch and then scroll to the very bottom of the screen to find the hidden “Back Tap” option. Tap it and you can assign different actions to double or triple tap the back of your phone.
“But wait,” you say. “I use a case to protect my iPhone when it flies out of my hands from time to time!” This shouldn’t be a problem – Back Tap will still work, provided you’re not using a super-thick case that could probably help your phone survive a fall from the top of a small building.
While you cannot double or triple tap to launch applications, if only – you can perform a lot of standard system actions. The list includes:
The list continues from there, including “scroll down” and “scroll up” gestures, as well as various accessibility features – zoom, VoiceOver, magnifier, and more.
I found it helpful to assign an application switcher to one of the touch gestures; since I am taking a lot of them, I assigned the screenshot action to another one. Now, for everyday use, I don’t have to move my thumb to swipe up and launch the app switcher; provided that I hold the phone with all my fingers, I can hold it in my hand and just tap the back of it lightly.
About this: You don’t have to wiggle your iPhone for taps to register. Two or three normal strokes in a fast enough sequence should be sufficient. You may have to play with Back Tap a few times to really feel the lightest touch that can activate your action, but you’ll learn with it.
While I wish you could do more with Back Taps – like activating the flashlight – the feature is still useful enough for everyone to try. After all, you don’t have many options to customize how you interact with your iPhone beyond Apple’s default gestures.