Pixel phones support some really cool gestures. In fact, there's a particular section in their settings page containing all these gestures that your Google phone supports.
I like the Flip to Shh capability, which basically allows you to place your device face down on a flat surface to silence notifications. That said, Google is reportedly preparing a tiny yet very important gesture for its smartphones, and it could become available very soon.
New way to turn off your phone screen
Whenever you want to turn off the screen of your Pixel phone, you have to press the power button. While it's a one-tap process, reaching out to the power button can sometimes be awkward in cases when the phone is on a table or stand. To ensure you don't have to face this inconvenience, many Android phones allow you to double-tap on the display to turn the device screen on or off.
Unfortunately, this capability is unavailable on Google smartphones. But the good news is that the company is reportedly working on introducing this capability. In the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 build, the strings related to this feature have been spotted.
The string description says, "Double tap an empty space on the home or lock screen to turn off the screen." This suggests that when this feature becomes active, users would be able to turn off their Pixel screen by simply double-tapping an empty space on either the home screen or the lock screen.
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Which Android brand do you think offers the best gestures?
It's been in development for some time
Double tap to turn off screen feature in Pixel phones. | Image by Android Authority
It isn't the first time that the strings related to this gesture have been spotted. The first signs related to it surfaced way back in 2025 in the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 1 build. However, at that time the related string suggested that it would only work when you double-tapped an empty space on the lock screen.
Google has apparently updated the capability by seemingly developing it to also work on the home screen. It's worth noting that the way this new gesture page would appear on Pixel phones also surfaced online. According to it, the option could be placed under the "Tap to check phone" feature, and you would have a toggle to manually enable or disable it.
There's a huge demand for this feature
Pixel fans have been requesting the double-tap-to-lock feature for a really long time. I was able to find various Reddit posts with users basically saying that they are surprised that this capability isn't available on the stock Pixel launcher.
User comment about the double tap to lock feature on Pixel phones. | Image by Reddit
A user posted that they have been a Samsung Galaxy customer for a really long time, but after switching to the Pixel 10 Pro XL, the double-tap-to-lock capability is one thing they are missing a lot. For reference, phones from many other Android brands, including Samsung, Xiaomi, and more, come with this really useful feature. Another user predicted that the Big G might bring this functionality by adding some AI to it.
You can use third-party tools
While Google has yet to officially introduce this sweet little functionality, there are plenty of third-party tools that you can use to lock your Pixel phone by simply tapping on its screen. Like many other users, I also have the Pixel ToolBox app installed on my Pixel 10, which allows locking the phone by double-tapping on the home screen. It also has its Pro plan, which you can subscribe to get additional benefits like the option to use double-tap to turn off the smartphone display from the lock screen.
That said, the gesture Google is preparing has been reportedly spotted in the Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 build, which is available for Pixel 6a to the latest Pixel 11 devices. That basically means that when this feature becomes live, it will likely become available on all these phones.
The following stories are proof that Google has started giving priority to its phone customization department:
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Aman Kumar is a news writer at PhoneArena covering Google Pixel phones, Android features, AI-powered smartphone tools, and mobile tech news. Before joining PhoneArena, he spent over five years writing about consumer technology for publications like MakeUseOf, How-To Geek, and Guiding Tech. His current daily drivers are the Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, while his red iPhone SE (2nd gen) remains a personal favorite. Aman also appreciates bold smartphone experiments and still considers the Nokia N-Gage one of the industry’s most iconic designs.
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