One of the biggest strengths of Android OS is its customizability, but some handsets are better than others when it comes to how much you can modify. While it’s difficult to name a clear winner, Samsung is one of those brands that focuses a lot on customization in its Android skin. And the company’s latest plan to make the Quick Panel fully customizable in One UI 8.5 is a testament to that.
However, customizability isn’t One UI 8.5’s sole focus. The South Korean tech firm is also readying a new system feature that will make it easier to launch certain features on your Galaxy phone with just a double tap if it’s running One UI 8.5.
Your Galaxy phone may soon get a new double-tap gesture
If you have a Galaxy handset, you can double-tap to turn on or off your screen. Currently, that’s all a double-tap on the screen can do on your Galaxy handset, unlike many other brands, such as Motorola, Xiaomi, and Google, which also allow users to double-tap on the back of the handset to launch specific features.
Now, Samsung wants to close this feature gap with its competitors by introducing the same feature on its Galaxy handsets. While the company hasn’t officially confirmed this, Android Authority dug deep into the latest internal build of One UI 8.5 and found strings that point to a new gesture system called “Double back tap.”
However, as per the strings, it won’t work when the screen is off. The feature description says you need to ‘tap the back of the phone twice while the screen is on.’ What will a double-tap on the back of your phone do, you ask? Well, Android Authority discovered that you will be able to trigger as many as seven functions by tapping the back of your Galaxy phone twice.
It will let you launch the following features with a double-tap on the back:
- AI Select
- Flashlight
- Notifications
- Open app
- Privacy display
- Quick settings
- Screenshot
However, a double-tap on the back gesture isn’t unheard of on Galaxy phones. You can download and install the RegiStar Good Lock module that already allows users to tap twice on the back of the phone to trigger a range of features, from taking screenshots to launching an app.
If rolled out in One UI 8.5, this will finally end the reliance on third-party software to use the double back tap gesture. However, one big caveat is that Galaxy handsets that won’t receive any update beyond One UI 8 will unlikely get the new gesture if Samsung makes it exclusive to One UI 8.5 or newer.
