# AssistiveTouch, one-handed functionality later this year



## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

So, in a nutshell:

You'd normally need to reach over with your other hand to tap onscreen controls, right? What they've been working on is, if you don't have your other hand, you'll have ways to control the watch. Clench your fist (analogous to clicking a mouse), pinch your finger and thumb together (change control focus like a keyboard's Tab key), and shake your wrist (creates an onscreen pointer).









Apple previews powerful software updates designed for people with disabilities


Apple today announced powerful software features designed for people with mobility, vision, hearing, and cognitive disabilities.



www.apple.com


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## PCCM (Feb 3, 2015)

How cool is that!!! I just had the situation today, I was writing and someone kept calling, and every time I forwarded to voicemail and picked up my pen they called again. The kicker was it was the “Chinese consulate” warming me that they were seizing my non existent property in China and to call back urgently. That was definitely a clenched fist moment.


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

PCCM said:


> How cool is that!!!


I have no idea how they do it. Maybe it's part contextual, in that during an incoming call (for example), it'll watch its sensors more closely to see if your wrist wiggles a certain way; or if there's a series of controls, it'll pay attention to the very slight shake that a finger pinch would create. I've noticed that if mine is on its charger on my desk, and I walk into the room to sit down, it'll turn on its screen because it senses how I shake the floor and desk ever so slightly -- that's how sensitive it can be.


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## ronalddheld (May 5, 2005)

Maybe It uses the accelerometer and gyroscopes?


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

ronalddheld said:


> Maybe It uses the accelerometer and gyroscopes?


Well, that much is obvious&#8230; lol

What I mean is, how is it discerning a clenching fist from any other motion? Or pinching your thumb and finger together? Does that particular wiggle give a specific "signature" through the motion sensors? Could it also listen for electrical impulses via the EKG contacts on the back? Would it _only_ listen for these motions in certain circumstances, like how you don't look out the front door of your house unless the doorbell rings?


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## clockworksynergy (Oct 3, 2013)

🔥


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

I don’t know when it got added — maybe I just missed it in the Watch settings app — but it’s live now. I met up with a friend yesterday who showed it working on his new Series 7. I checked mine, and it works on my Series 4, too.  I don’t know yet whether it goes back to the Series 3 (which is the oldest AW that runs watchOS 8) but it would make sene if it does. 

(edit: Apple says Series 4 and later; shown in the YT video)

More tips and how-tos here:





Use AssistiveTouch on your Apple Watch


With AssistiveTouch, you can use hand gestures to navigate and use your Apple Watch.



support.apple.com


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## watchcrank_tx (Sep 1, 2012)

BarracksSi said:


> I don’t know when it got added — maybe I just missed it in the Watch settings app — but it’s live now. I met up with a friend yesterday who showed it working on his new Series 7. I checked mine, and it works on my Series 4, too.  I don’t know yet whether it goes back to the Series 3 (which is the oldest AW that runs watchOS 8) but it would make sene if it does.
> 
> (edit: Apple says Series 4 and later; shown in the YT video)
> 
> ...


Thank you for posting.  I had no idea this had been added.


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## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

watchcrank_tx said:


> Thank you for posting.  I had no idea this had been added.


It's just _so_ cool. They had to jam a lot of function access into what's really just two types of input -- a bump, and a shake.

Shaking to get the onscreen pointer — I haven't turned that on yet. For now, I need to invoke the one of the subscreens and then activate it.

The "bump" — that's really either a sharp, short wiggle, or a longer, smoother bump. I think the user needs to practice a bit, but the gestures make sense.

The sharp wiggle is from pinching your finger and thumb, which needs to be more like tapping your finger and thumb together, making a percussive "tap" feeling. If I clench my fist too quickly, it makes the same percussive tap, which invokes the tap gesture by mistake.

The smoother bump is from clenching your hand into a fist. It works best if I start with my hand open (not already closed), close it, and then open again.

With any of these input motions, you need to wait to see the focus change on the screen, or else the inputs blend together. But you can walk your way through _everything_ — I haven't come across any situation yet that was unusable or couldn't be backed out of. It can even invoke tap-and-hold (what used to be Force Touch in the old days), which means I can bring up the control overlay in RadarScope and zoom in and out of its map view.


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