With the Series 9 and Ultra 2, you can double-tap to use the primary function of an app without touching the display. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
Double tap has arrived with watchOS 10.1. The gesture allows you to control your supported Apple Watch (Series 9 and Ultra 2) with a pinching motion, all without ever having to touch the display. The idea is to give you a way to interact with the watch if you don’t have both hands free — like when you’re cooking, carrying groceries, or are on a walk and holding a cup of coffee.
While the feature may seem familiar to Assistive Touch, there are a few key differences. I go into it in-depth here, but the gist is Assistive Touch is a full navigational system designed for people with limb differences, whereas double tap is more like double clicking on your computer mouse. You use it to perform the “primary” action of an app at a given moment….