The Apple Watch Series 8 has a feature similar to Double Tap

Earlier this month Apple unveiled the Watch Series 9 and the Watch Ultra 2, both of which come with a new feature Double Tap and surprisingly a similar feature already exists on the Watch Series 8.

As noted by TechRadar, gesture controls like the Double Tap aren’t a brand-new concept and the Watch Series 8 does offer a range of different gesture control features. These were designed as accessibility features and meant primarily for those who might have trouble interacting the watch using the touch display.

However, these gestures are not the same thing as Double Tap. They are however likely Apple’s jumping off point that led to it. The main thing to remember is that Double Tap is exclusive to the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2. And that’s because they use the S9 chip inside which is needed to power the feature.

To truly get what Double Tap offers, you’ll need to be on one of the new watches. But even if you are on the Watch Series 8, you can still access the other gesture controls.

Double Tap on the Apple Watch Series 8 is better known as Assistive Touch

As the name suggests, Assistive Touch is there to assist users who might have need of accessibility features. In this case, gesture controls to allow for a range of interactions. Users can enable all or some of these. Which augments their experience by lessening how much they have to touch the display.

In fact Apple’s own description of the feature states these allow for watch use without “ever” having to touch the display at all. Or the controls. So if it’s not a double tap then what is it? Well Apple specifically calls these gestures pinches and clenches. There’s also a double pinch and a double clench. You can set these up to do a number of things like launching the action menu or opening up the notification center.

It’s not quite as robust as the Double Tap feature. And based on TechRadar’s user experience, it may not work as well either. But it is there.