How To: Your iPhone's Hidden Back Tap Button Has 5 More Actions Available with iOS 18

There are more actions available for the Action button, but only a handful of iPhone models have that button. However, there is another button with new features you can use, and you can access all the fresh features on any iPhone model that can run iOS 18.

The button in question is Back Tap, which isn't technically a button since there isn't a physical mechanism to press or click or an onscreen item to tap. Instead, Back Tap lets you tap the back of your iPhone two or three times to trigger whatever action you assign to its double-tap and triple-tap gestures. It can detect these gestures thanks to your iPhone's accelerometer and gyroscope.

With iOS 18, currently in beta until September's upcoming stable release, Back Tap has a few new actions up its sleeve. There is one new system action, plus four new and one revised accessibility actions:

• Assistive Access: Enters Assistive Access, which changes iOS systemwide to make it easier for users with cognitive disabilities to use their iPhones. Items onscreen are bigger, content is more focused, things are simpler to navigate, apps are easier to use, visuals can replace text, and so on.

• Front Camera: Opens the selfie mode in the Camera app, which lets you start snapping selfies right away.

• Hover Typing: Activates or deactivates Hover Typing, which shows larger text on the screen when typing in a text field, to help low-vision users see better. The font and color of the larger text can be customized.

• Live Recognition: Starts Detection Mode in the Magnifier app, which can interpret the environment around you in text or voice. This is the same as Detection Mode on iOS 17, but Apple renamed it to match its new VoiceOver integration. It's only available for Pro model iPhones with lidar.

• Music Haptics: Activates or deactivates Music Haptics, which provides tactile feedback in the form of taps, textures, and refined vibrations for supported songs in Apple Music and in third-party apps that use the Music Haptics API. Haptic tracks are played along with music tracks to allow users who are deaf or hard of hearing to enjoy the music.

• Vehicle Motion Cues: Activates or deactivates Vehicle Motion Cues, which reduce motion sickness while using your iPhone in an automobile. When on, animated dots near the screen's edges represent changes in vehicle motion. Apple says this helps reduce sensory conflict without interfering with the main content.

You can find these options on your iPhone via Settings » Accessibility » Touch » Back Tap. Choose "Double Tap" or "Triple Tap" to set their actions.