SMARTER PHONE
People are just realizing Android phones have ‘hidden’ button – and users are learning long list of things it can do
MILLIONS of Android phones have a "hidden" button that you may have missed.
It's far harder to spot than the power button or your volume toggles – but it's very useful.
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Many people don't realize that the back of an Android phone is a giant button.
Google has built an iPhone-style "back tap" feature right into the device.
It's an Accessibility feature called Quick Tap that's supposed to make the handset easier to use – and almost anyone could find a good reason to activate it.
You simply double-tap on the back of the phone to perform a whole range of functions.
That includes:
- Taking screenshots
- Accessing digital assistant
- Playing or pausing media
- Seeing recent apps
- Showing notifications
- Toggling the flashlight
- Opening a specific app
How to use Quick Tap on Android
First, make sure that you're able to use it.
It was only added in 2021 with the release of Android 12 (with flashlight functionality added in Android 13).
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So make sure you're using a recent version of Android or you might not be able to access it.
Next, you'll need to turn it on.
Go to the Settings app and then tap System > Gestures > Quick Tap.
Now toggle Use Quick Tap to the on position, and choose your favorite action.
If you find yourself accidentally activating Quick Tap, you can go back into settings and change the sensitivity of the feature.
There's a toggle to "require stronger taps" for Quick Tap to activate.
How to activate Back Tap on iPhone
If you're an iPhone owner that has stumbled on to this article, never fear – you can do it too.
To turn on the feature make sure you've updated to 14 or later. To do that, go to Settings > General > Software update.
Then go to your iPhone Settings app.
Scroll down and tap "Accessibility" and then click "Touch".
Then scroll down to "Back Tap".
You'll have the choice to turn on "Double Tap" or "Triple Tap".
Whichever you select gives you the same options.
Click to see which features you can now control with either a double or triple tap on the back of your phone.
They include taking screenshots, turning the volume up or down, magnifying, scrolling and more.
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For example, if you wanted to use a Double Tap to take screenshots, click the "Double Tap" option and then tick "Shazam Shortcut" or "Screenshot".
Now you should be able to take a screenshot just by tapping the back of your phone twice.
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