Assistive Touch vs. Double Tap

[TSE]

Is there a functional difference? Genuinely curious from someone who has used both. Thanks!

 

[Howard2k]

The S9 isn't out yet.

It's obviously different though, Apple wouldn't have made a song and dance about it, then announced that it's not ready until October, if it was exactly the same.

 

[nippyjun]

in you tube look for this video by chase the summit :"

Apple Watch Ultra 2 In-Depth Review - More ULTRA? Or More of the Same?"​

He compares this.

 

[TSE]

in you tube look for this video by chase the summit :"

Apple Watch Ultra 2 In-Depth Review - More ULTRA? Or More of the Same?"​

He compares this.

That was a wonderful "watch", no pun intended! Thank you for that recommendation. It seems like Assistive Touch is MUCH less accurate and quick, and more of a last resort option for interacting with the watch. Almost like a beta run of Double Tap.

For anyone interested:

 

[deeddawg]

Is there a functional difference? Genuinely curious from someone who has used both. Thanks!

From DC Rainmaker:

How double-tap responds varies based on what you’re doing in the watch. For example, if doing nothing and just on the watch face, a double tap will open up the list of widgets (called the Smart Stack on WatchOS 10). Whereas if a call is coming in, it’ll answer the call. And inversely, if on a call, it’ll hang up the call. Alarm ringing? It’ll snooze it. The double tap action is tied specifically to the primary button in any given app/scenario. Though not all apps do anything with it yet. For example, in sport recording modes, nothing happens.

In testing it out in the hands-on area, it works reasonably well. The first time I put different watches on my wrist I tended to need to adjust/tighten the straps a bit before it triggered, but once I found that ‘happy point’, it triggered flawlessly each time.

Note this is different than the accessibility-focused gesture-based feature that Apple has had in their watch. To begin, on the accessibility feature, that’s more limited in how it gets triggered, and is tied to specific components of the UI. Whereas double tap is running 24×7 to catch those double tap gestures. Further, 3rd party apps can leverage the double tap trigger points as well, and react accordingly. Again, there is overlap here, but it’s not quite as much as some think. Apple says the new S9 chipset is required to run this algorithm 24×7 to capture those actions.

(emphasis mine)

 

[Supermallet]

Assistive Touch is an accessibility feature, it has more options than Double Tap because it’s designed for people who need entirely one handed navigation of the watch. Double Tap isn’t that at all, it’s a feature for quick actions to make the watch more convenient. Assistive Touch works across the entire watch, Double Tap does not. Assistive Touch lets you use the watch entirely with one hand, Double Tap does not. Assistive Touch supports a range of hand gestures, with each gesture doing a different action—and you can program which gesture triggers which action. Double Tap is preset for specific actions in specific contexts.

For the user without accessibility needs, Double Tap will undoubtedly be the nicer experience. For users with the need for Assistive Touch, Double Tap would be far too limited.

 

[Dekicrown]

I think OP means quick actions, not assistive touch. Two different things and ones that a lot of reviewers fail to differentiate. Quick actions appear to be the same thing as double tap, although it’s hard to know since this feature hasn’t been released.