Samsung Galaxy phones could soon have built-in double-tap on the back

Samsung devices might at last include a simple way to double-tap the back of your phone right in the main software, skipping the need for extra downloads. A close look inside a test version of Samsung’s upcoming software shows they’re adding a double-tap feature on the back of Galaxy phones.

Right now, people use a special app from Samsung to do this, but it could come built right into the phone’s system soon. That means no more app hunting just to tap twice on the back. Over the past couple of years, several phone makers have added a cool trick where you tap the back of your device twice to launch apps or turn on tools quickly.

Samsung lets users do something similar, but only if they grab a free add-on app first. Now, fresh clues point to the company baking this right into their everyday phone interface. By checking out an early test copy of One UI 8.5, we spotted signs of a new “double back tap” option. There are fresh labels in the code that name it and explain how it works, like this:

<string name=”double_back_tap_title”>Double back tap</string>
<string name=”double_back_tap_description”>Gently tap the back of the phone twice while the screen is on.</string>

We found a bunch of actions you could kick off with that back tap, too. Here’s the lineup:

• AI Select
• Flashlight
• Notifications
• Open app
• Privacy display
• Quick settings
• Screenshot

All this adds up to Samsung likely rolling out the double-tap right into the core phone setup. It’s about time, since right now Galaxy users need to install something called RegiStar to get it going. That app handles things like snapping and sharing photos, chatting with Gemini, popping open mini windows, pulling up alerts, checking recent tasks, hitting the back button, or jumping to a chosen program.

Fingers crossed, a few of those handy starters from the Good Lock toolkit make the jump to One UI 8.5. Should this pan out, it’d put Samsung in good company with brands like Google, Apple, Xiaomi, and ASUS, all of whom build this tap gesture straight into their devices.

This isn’t the only fresh find in One UI 8.5 lately. We’ve also turned up hints at smart home screen helpers, steps to ease issues for folks sensitive to flashing lights, pollen alerts coming back in the weather tool, and easy nearby file swaps using NFC.

A big thanks to ThatJoshGuy for the help on this piece! Keep in mind, peeking at app files like this gives a sneak peek at stuff that might show up later, based on early code bits. But not everything spotted here is guaranteed to hit your phone for real.