Touch and gestures on the touch screen these days make up the vast majority of our interaction with smartphones, but sometimes it’s fun to perform an action without looking, as we were able to by pressing the Active Edge to turn the Google Assistant on older pixels to summon. A similar feature that enabled the dual tap on the back of the phone was running for Android 11, but did not make it into the final version. Fortunately, it looks like it will make a comeback in Android 12.
With the code named Columbus, the feature used a combination of the phone’s accelerometer and gyroscope to locate taps on the back of the phone and perform a predetermined function, such as taking a screenshot or to open an app. Since the newer Pixels have lost the ability to activate Google Assistant with a push, this gesture would be an appropriate alternative.
The people at 9to5Google has seen information indicating that the feature is making a comeback on Android 12. Like the previous implementation, it will allow users to adjust the action, but it can also make a switch for sensitivity and an easy way to turn it on or off.
With the first preview of the developer of the next Android iteration expected to arrive sometime in February, we probably won’t have to wait too long to see this feature go into effect.
