iOS 14 hidden features: Back Tap, Sound Recognition
iOS 14 arrived with a bang and apart from all the new features that Apple showed during WWDC2020, there are some hidden gems, unearthed by vigilant users. Just a few hours after Apple’s keynote, Reddit user u/dumbelts posted a short video showing a nifty new feature – Back Tap. Tapping twice on the back of what seems to be an iPhone 11 Pro resulted in switching back and forth between the Home screen and Control Center.The new feature can be found in the Settings app by tapping Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Apparently, Back Tap can not only be used to access Control Center, Notification Center, the Lock screen, the Home screen, or the App Switcher, but also bring up Siri, mute the iPhone, take a screenshot, or access a Shortcut. Users can assign two different actions depending on the number of taps on the back.
There’s no official information on supported devices at the moment, but it seems that Back Tap works on iPhone models that support Tap to Wake (X, XS and XS Max, XR, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max).
Another interesting feature was uncovered by Reddit user u/Jsmith4523. It is called Sound Recognition and works as the name suggests. “Your iPhone will continuously listen for certain sounds, and using on-device intelligence, will notify you when sounds may be recognized,” reads the description.
There are 14 different sounds that can be recognized, including fire and smoke alarms, household sounds like a knock on the door or noises from home appliances, animal sounds, or a crying baby. Each sound option has an individual toggle switch, and when a sound is recognized a notification pops-up. You can enable Sound Recognition from Settings > Accessibility > Sound Recognition.
Sound Recognition can be a useful feature, especially for people with hearing deficiencies, but there’s also a disclaimer that states: “Sound Recognition should not be relied upon on in circumstances where you may be harmed or injured, in high-risk or emergency situations, or for navigation,” so people should exercise caution when using this new tool for important stuff.
[Feature] something I found in iOS 14 called sound recognition. It alerts the user if the iPhone detects a sound you want it to listen out for. from r/iOSBeta