With the arrival of iPhone 15 Pro Apple debuted the new action button. The main feature that makes this button stand out is its customization possibilities, since we can configure it to carry out different actionssuch as opening the camera, recording a voice memo or launching a shortcut that we have previously created.
Although this button is reserved for current iPhones (and only available in the Pro version), there is a hidden button on all iPhones since the iPhone 8 that many users are unaware of and that also allows us to assign different actions. In this article I tell you how to enable it and everything you can do with it.
Double or triple tap the back of the iPhone to activate specific functions
As we were anticipating, the function we are talking about is available on the iPhone 8 or later models, so if you have any of the iPhones that Apple has presented over the last few years you can start using this function. Once enabled it allows us use the back of the iPhone to launch quick actionssuch as checking the notification center, turning on the flashlight, or opening the app switcher.
One of the advantages of touch back is that we can assign an action to double tap and a different action to triple tap, which is quite a point in its favor. Specifically, the option we are talking about allows us to use different system options and accessibility settings: lower and raise the volume, lock the screen or rotation, open the camera, use the zoom or magnifying glass, activate color filters or interact with Siri, to name a few options.
Another of the strong points of this function is the possibility of assigning double or triple tap to any of the shortcuts that we have created using the application Shortcuts. This is one of the most interesting possibilities of touch backgiven that we can launch specific shortcuts by just touching the back of the iPhone and turn the back of the device into a button for practically anything we can think of.
Activating this function is very simple
Now that we’ve explained what this feature is, you may be wondering how to enable it. The function is disabled by default, so to configure it you have to follow these steps:
- Open the application Settings
- Tap on the section Accessibility
- Click on the option Tap within Physical and motor skills
- Scroll to the end of the section, where you will find the option touch back
- Click on Double tap either Tap three times to assign an action to the gesture that interests you most
Once you have completed the previous steps, you can give two or three quick taps on the back of your iPhone to launch the previously assigned action. In my case, I have set my iPhone to take a screenshot by tapping the back of the device three times, as it makes the process quite easy.
Cover image | Alejandro Alcolea (Xataka)