watchOS 10.1 Beta 2 brings Double tap gesture to Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9

Apple recently seeded watchOS 10.1 Beta 2 to developers and beta testers. Although Apple did not release the update with release notes listing new features and improvements, users have found that the Double tap gesture feature is finally available on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.

One of the exclusive features of the 2023 Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the Double tap gesture powered by the smartwatches’ advanced S9 SiP featuring a new 4-core Neural Engine to process machine learning 2x faster than the predecessor Series 8 and Ultra 1.

Double tap gesture allows users to control compatible smartwatches with just one hand and without touching the screen. When the feature is enabled, users need to tap their index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to perform actions like answering and ending calls, playing and pausing music, taking photos, stopping a timer, snoozing an alarm, opening Smart Stack, and more.

However, Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 launched with watchOS 10 which did not include the feature.

How to use the Double tap gesture in watchOS 10.1

With the availability of watchOS 10.1 Public Beta, the new Double tap gesture will be available to all Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 users. Here is how you can use the feature:

Update your Apple Watch to watchOS 10.1.
Make sure that the iPhone paired with your Apple Watch is updated to iOS 17.1.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
Scroll down to Gestures > Double Tap.
Turn on the feature and select the actions you want to perform for playback and Smart Stack.

If you do not want to install a beta version of the watchOS 10.1 update because of stability issues, do not worry. Apple is expected to release watchOS 10.1 to the public this month.