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Google Testing New Double-Tap Gesture on Back of Pixel Phones for Launching Camera, Assistant, and More

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Google is reportedly testing an interesting new gesture for its Pixel smartphones that lets users double-tap the back of the handset to control various functions.

Doubletap.jpg

XDA-Developers discovered the new gesture system, codenamed "Columbus," in the Android 11 developer preview for Pixel phones. According to the site, the double-tap gesture can be used to perform the following actions:
  • Dismiss timers
  • Snooze alarms
  • Launch the camera
  • Invoke Google Assistant
  • Play or pause media
  • Collapse the status bar
  • Silence incoming calls
  • Unpin notifications
  • Other "user-selected action"
The double-tap gesture apparently doesn't require any special hardware, as it relies on the phone's gyroscope and accelerometer. XDA-Developers managed to get the gesture working on a Pixel 2 XL and Pixel 4 XL, both running Android 11 Developer Preview 1. You can see the gesture being used to launch the Camera app in the clip below.

​

GIF via XDA-Developers​

To prevent the gesture being activated unintentionally, Google has also added so-called "gates" to stop the double tap actions from taking effect. Some of the currently implemented gates are said to include camera visibility, charging status, keyguard, and more. XDA believes the Settings app will also contain gesture training activities for the user to perform in order to refine its responsiveness.

Google's own-branded Android phones have included innovative interactive gestures before, such as fingerprint gestures, Active Edge, and Motion Sense on the Pixel 4 series. Active Edge lets users squeeze the sides of the device to quickly activate Google Assistant, while Motion Sense allows users to skip songs, snooze alarms, and silence phone calls by waving a hand in front of the phone.

Apple has also experimented with new ways of interacting with iPhones, including the use of touch and touchless gestures. A 2018 rumor from Bloomberg suggested Apple is working on iPhones that will use touchless gesture controls, allowing users to hover over the iPhone to navigate through the iOS operating system using a finger, but without having to touch the display.

If Apple moved forward with that rumored gesture technology, it could show up in iPhones as early as 2020, according to Bloomberg's two-year timeline for the feature. It's not yet clear if Apple is continuing to experiment with gestures, though, as we haven't heard any information on such a feature coming to the 2020 ?iPhone? lineup.

What do you think of Google's rear double-tap gesture? Is it something you'd like to see in a new-generation ?iPhone?, or are touch-less gestures the future? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Google Testing New Double-Tap Gesture on Back of Pixel Phones for Launching Camera, Assistant, and More
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/02/21/google-tests-rear-double-tap-gesture-pixel-phone/
Who is this feature for? For peeping toms to secretly take pictures in the subway by unsuspectingly tapping the backs of their phones?
 
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I think this is pretty cool. Apple's accelerometer setup is probably sensitive enough that you could tap the right side of the phone for play/pause and the left side of the phone for next track, etc. In theory all six axial directions could be utilized. Just like Force Touch, it wouldn't be crucial in the least for the operation of the phone, but it could be another (hopefully deactivate-able) way of interfacing.
 
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Mansu944 said:
Something like this is obvious and I’ve recommended it to apple. What if volume down opened the camera and took a pic, and volume up opened the camera d as s started recording a movie. I’d miss a lot fewer moments if the added this.
Click to expand...

and you wouldn’t be able to control your volume. Sounds fun.

maybe the power button can open Twitter and tweet whatever your last photo taken was. And the letter “e” on the keyboard can dial your mom on the phone. And tap and hold on the phone icon can mean volume up.
 
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Salavat23 said:
Who is this feature for? For peeping toms to secretly take pictures in the subway by unsuspectingly tapping the backs of their phones?
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense...Doubling tapping the back of your phone to launch the camera app is more conspicuous than just launching the camera app via the traditional method.

*As noted in the article, the gesture takes into account the camera's visibility to enable launching the app. I.E. if your camera is in your pocket, it wouldn't launch the camera app.

**Also, this is just to launch the camera app. One would still have to aim the camera and take the picture...I still don't understand your peeping toms comment.
 
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I'm currently happy with raising the iPhone and swiping left to activate the camera. I have to pick up the device anyway, so basically it's just one quick motion and I'm there.
 
cmaier said:
and you wouldn’t be able to control your volume. Sounds fun.

maybe the power button can open Twitter and tweet whatever your last photo taken was. And the letter “e” on the keyboard can dial your mom on the phone. And tap and hold on the phone icon can mean volume up.
Click to expand...
I’m assuming the person meant using the volume buttons when the phone was off. I would love a dedicated physical button to quickly access the camera (when the phone is off) for the very same reason. Split seconds matters when dealing with kids.
 
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iamPro said:
I’m assuming the person meant using the volume buttons when the phone was off. I would love a dedicated physical button to quickly access the camera (when the phone is off) for the very same reason. Split seconds matters when dealing with kids.
Click to expand...
It isnt that great. I know this because the apple battery case for the new iphones has a dedicated button. It’s really not any faster that swiping from the home screen in practical use. And i usually forget it’s there.
 
I mean, I always like to see new ways of controlling the UI, but my question is, do consumers really remember how to do these types of things? Think of it like 3D Touch, a really useful feature for those who actually knew how to manipulate it, but for the majority of consumers, it was confusing and they didn’t know what it was for. That’s kind of how I see this double tap feature.

For someone like myself heavily into ‘tech’, I like to utilize the small, hidden little features with smart phones that do make it more convenient to access certain points within the phone itself, but for the majority of consumers, they’ll never use this.
 
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As someone who makes a lot of photographs with my phone's camera, I'm curious how that idea works out.
 
It's already hard for some people to hold the phone without accidentally setting off something (my 2 year old and elderly parents have issues all the time). I can only imagine that this would drive them crazy. I can hear it now. WHY DOES MY CAMERA KEEP POPPING UP??
 
millerlite said:
It's already hard for some people to hold the phone without accidentally setting off something (my 2 year old and elderly parents have issues all the time). I can only imagine that this would drive them crazy. I can hear it now. WHY DOES MY CAMERA KEEP POPPING UP??
Click to expand...

some phones have settings to enable and disable things as you please. Believe it or not 😉
 
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I thought Soli was supposed to be so awesome. Why don’t they have a gesture to launch the camera instead?
 
itsmilo said:
some phones have settings to enable and disable things as you please. Believe it or not 😉
Click to expand...
And there are absolutely no deleterious trade-offs in adding those settings. Nope, none at all. Doesn’t affect complexity, user confusion, performance, difficulty in maintaining code, unintended consequences when multiple settings collide, massively increased test coverage requirements due to having to support 2-to-the-n different combinations of settings, user interface overload, etc. Nope, none of that.

That’s why I prefer my devices to come with no software at all. Maximum choice. I can type in any code I want, that way!
 
Mansu944 said:
Something like this is obvious and I’ve recommended it to apple. What if volume down opened the camera and took a pic, and volume up opened the camera d as s started recording a movie. I’d miss a lot fewer moments if the added this.
Click to expand...
how are you planning on adjusting the volume?
 
wish Samsung galaxy phones did that? I have no desire to buy a google phone. the design alone is ugly and underwhelming.
 
cmaier said:
And there are absolutely no deleterious trade-offs in adding those settings. Nope, none at all. Doesn’t affect complexity, user confusion, performance, difficulty in maintaining code, unintended consequences when multiple settings collide, massively increased test coverage requirements due to having to support 2-to-the-n different combinations of settings, user interface overload, etc. Nope, none of that.

That’s why I prefer my devices to come with no software at all. Maximum choice. I can type in any code I want, that way!
Click to expand...

And as a user I should care about any of this besides the first two points because ... ? That’s what developers are being paid for. With that logic a iPhone still wouldn’t support copy paste or mms as it did or didn’t in the past 🙂
 
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I think this is yet another silly workaround for touchscreen limitations, but maybe it is better than nothing. Generally I feel the almost complete embracing of touchscreens has been a mistake, as there are some usability aspects they just cannot handle well. (E.g. I think older portable music players with physical buttons, including even the Walkmans from decades ago, are in some ways vastly superior to modern phones.)

So now we have devices that aim to be featureless slates of glass, but some things just don't work all that well with this. Yet rather than adding some oh-so-backwards buttons, we instead get to squeeze and shake the slates, and tap them and gesticulate at them. All those workarounds indicate that the need for something beyond touch seems to be recognized, and I hope the designers eventually get over the "stigma" of buttons.
 
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