One of the new features that has arrived with iOS 14 that did not make a big impact on the WWDC keynote but that will be super useful for all users is something called Back Tap. The new iPhone feature allows you to customize double and triple taps on the back of your iPhone for use in shortcut automations, accessibility features, and iOS system actions. Read on to see how to use iPhone Back Tap custom controls and all the things you can do with the new feature.
The possibilities for custom iPhone Back Tap controls are only limited by your imagination, as the feature works with the Shortcuts app automations. But if you want to keep things simple, you can assign a double or triple tap on the back of your iPhone to do things like open the Control Center, take a screenshot, or enable accessibility features like AssistiveTouch, VoiceOver, Zoom, etc.
Back Taps works from the home screen, within applications (including third-party ones) and even from the lock screen of your iPhone.
Note: iOS 14 is currently only available as a developer beta, with the first public beta coming in July. Read more here on how to install it.
How to use custom iPhone Back Tap controls in iOS 14
- On your iPhone, go to Configurations > Accessibility
- Tap I touched
- Swipe down and choose Tap again
- Tap Double Tap or Triple Tap to choose an action
- Don’t forget you can use double or triple backspace to start automations with shortcuts
If you want to use an iPhone Back Tap to do something like open Control Center, Notification Center, etc., which takes over your screen, doing the same touch gesture will take you back to where you were previously.
This is what the process looks like:
You can choose to use only a double or triple Back Tap or configure both. System actions are at the top, swipe down to choose an Accessibility action, or use an automation shortcut app.
Are you excited to use the new iPhone Back Tap controls? What do you plan to use them for? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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