With iOS 14 you can touch the back of the iPhone to activate specific functions. This is a function present in the Accessibility panel and designed to help people with disabilities in using the device but which, on balance, can be used by anyone and for the most disparate functions.
We had already talked about it in the second episode of “the best tricks with iOS 14”, a series of articles with which we mentioned the most interesting news of the new operating system. Basically it is possible to activate this option and associate a particular function when you touch the back of the phone two and three times. So two different functions for two distinct touches.
Apple offers several shortcuts dedicated to this new feature. For example, you can use the double and / or triple tap to call up Abbreviations, for Ease of Access, for the Shake function, to lock the screen, or to access the Control Center or Notification Center. It can also be used to view the app list, return to the homepage, take a screenshot, activate Mute mode, call up Siri or Spotlight. Or to adjust the volume.
The double / triple tap can also be associated with some functions present in the Accessibility panel, such as the AssistiveTouch, the classic inversion or the smart one, to recall the Read screen, the magnifying glass, the Voice Over and the zoom . Or they can be substituted for interface scrolling gestures.
The most interesting features to use with this special touch, however, are those that can be created with Apple’s Commands app. Any macro or quick action created with the app can actually be associated with double and triple taps on the back of the iPhone. At this point the connection to the Android universe comes spontaneously: for years many of these smartphones have been able, for example, to call up the camera by clicking on the back of the phone and with iOS 14 now you can do the same with iPhone too.
First you need to create the quick shortcut: just open the Commands app, click on the “+” status at the top right, then click “Add action”. In the search bar, start typing the word “camera”, then click on the Camera app that will appear in the search results. Then select the Take photo option, then click on “Next” and give a name of your choice to the new shortcut.
At this point all that remains is to associate the shortcut to the desired gesture. Go to Settings> Accessibility> Touch> Back Touch, then first choose from the menu whether to link it to double tap or triple tap. Then scroll down to its tab and select the new shortcut you just created. Done!
At this point the relative gesture will start the camera, regardless of the app you are viewing at that moment (the screen must be unlocked, ed). As we said this is just one of the possible uses that can be made of the Back Touch function. With the Commands app, the limit will be your own imagination.
