You should remember that last March we talked about a feature that Google was reportedly planning to include Pixel phones with Android 11. The feature was codenamed “Columbus” and allows users to double tap on the back of the Pixel device to activate certain features; this action would be set by default to activate the Google Assistant, but it could be customized to dismiss the timer, start the camera, play / pause media, retract the status bar, silence incoming phone calls, suspend alarms, release notifications, start the camera , dismiss an alarm, take a screenshot and more.
When Android 11 was released, “Columbus” was not found in the new version of Android. Yet, information viewed by 9to5Google suggests that the “double tap” gesture will end on Android 12. This would replace the Active Edge compression feature that is not found on the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G and the Pixel 5. The double tap would allow the Pixel users to do the next:
- Enable Google Assistant
- Take a screenshot
- Pause / resume media playback
- Open the notifications tab
- Open the recent apps view
The version of the “Double tap” that will arrive on Android 12 apparently will allow users to require a firm touch to check in to avoid accidentally triggering a feature. The “double tap” can also be completely disabled, if desired by the user.
Although Google has decided not to include this feature in Android 11, Apple has included a similar feature with iOS 14. In the Accessibility menu found in Settings, those running an iPhone with iOS 14 or later can switch to “Tap back”. This allows you to select one of several actions that you can activate with a double tap on the back of the phone and another action that will take place with a triple tap. For example, a double tap on this writer The iPhone 11 Pro Max will result in a screenshot; a triple tap opens the Google Assistant app.