need to hunt it
down to find it
in the Settings
app. Head to
Accessibility, then
Touch and Back Tap.
Inside you’ll
find options for
double tap and
triple tap with 16
system actions,
10 Accessibility
actions, two scroll
gestures, and any
Shortcuts you’ve
created. That gives you a number of
ways to cut down on taps and swipes,
from taking a screenshot to toggling
the flashlight. If you’re using the
iPhone 13 Max, it will be a huge help
with trying to access things that are a
little out of reach, such as the Control
Centre and Notification Centre.
But the best use for Back Tap is to
bypass the Lock Screen. Ever since
Apple launched Face ID, it’s added an
extra step to getting to your Home
screen. After the iPhone is unlocked,
you still need to swipe up to get to
your apps, a step that’s still annoying
even after it’s become second nature.
But with Back Tap, you can set your
iPhone to go Home when you double-
or triple-tap the back, so you don’t
need to touch and swipe the screen
to fully unlock your phone anymore.
I just pick up your phone, wait for
Face ID to unlock it, and double-tap
the back to go to the Home screen.
It’s still not quite as fast as the home
button used to be, but it’s very close.
And that’s just one use. There are
unlimited ways you can programme
the two Back Tap shortcuts to quickly
perform actions that usually take
several taps. Fewer iPhone features
are more useful, and we don’t know
why Apple doesn’t advertise this
one more.