One of the best things about switching to a new phone brand is constantly discovering cool new (exclusive) features. In the case of my Pixel 10 Pro, I’ve already started using features like Now Playing and Pixel Screenshots on a daily basis, with the latest exclusive feature to catch my attention being Quick Tap. But there’s a catch.

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Google

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Google Tensor G5

The Pixel 10 Pro offers an upgrade over the base model with the powerful Google Tensor G5 chip, more RAM, and more storage (if you need it).

I’ve fallen in love with Quick Tap

It’s so versatile

At first, I only used Quick Tap to take screenshots, but after experimenting with launching apps, I realized I’d rather use it to launch apps by default and switch back to taking screenshots when needed.

The final combo I settled on involves using Quick Tap to launch my wallet app when I’m out and about because I’ve all but abandoned cash and use the app for virtually every payment, and then switching it to taking screenshots whenever I need to grab more than a few at once, which is much easier than using the usual method (power button + volume down).

Honestly, I love this arrangement. I use my bank’s wallet app all the time (for some reason, my bank doesn’t support adding its cards to Google Wallet, which is kind of nuts), and having it mapped to tapping the back of my phone is super handy because I can open it before I even land on the home screen.

Credit: Cory Gunther / How-To Geek

Having to keep the phone unlocked for Quick Tap to open the app is a bit of a drag, but since I have the Lift to check phone and Face Unlock features enabled, I can start tapping as soon as I take the phone out of my pocket, and by the time it’s unlocked, the app is already launching. Neat.

But this is just one way to use Quick Tap. On top of being able to perform various actions and open virtually any app installed on your phone, you can also use Quick Tap to jump directly to certain menus in some apps. For instance, I can immediately open the password generator or my password vault in Bitwarden, go straight to the New Task screen in Google Calendar, or quick-tap my way into creating a new alarm in the Clock app.

You can also open a specific inbox in Gmail if you’ve got multiple email accounts linked, jump into popular conversations in Telegram and Microsoft Teams (I reckon other chat apps support this as well, but I mostly use these two), open a specific channel in Slack, or create a new note in Google Keep. The possibilities are vast. You should definitely check what you can do with Quick Tap on your phone; there’s a good chance you’ll be able to streamline access to a specific menu or function in your favorite app.

The feature is so versatile that I almost feel like I’m wasting it by using it to open my wallet app, but this arrangement works great for me for now.

Unfortunately, Quick Tap has one major caveat

It doesn’t play nice with phone cases

Credit: Goran Damnjanovic / How-To  Geek

If this sounds too good to be true, it’s because it kind of is. You see, Quick Tap doesn’t play nice with most phone cases. I’ve read that it can be pretty reliable with soft TPU cases, but hard-shell cases all but make it impossible to activate.

I can get it to activate about 3 out of 10 times by tapping the bottom third of the phone while it’s in a hard case, but that’s less than ideal, to say the least. Since I can’t stand using soft cases—especially those clear TPU abominations—I’m left with a choice: either I give up Quick Tap, or I go commando with my phone.

I’ve been using my phone naked for the past few weeks

But I’ll have to put a skin on it because it’s as slippery as soap

Credit: Hannah Stryker / How-To Geek

Since I’m not someone who frequently drops their phone (I dropped my previous phone, a Galaxy S21 FE, less than 10 times over three and a half years, although one of those drops was almost fatal) and I find the Pixel 10 Pro to be just the right size for my average-sized hands, I decided to try using the phone naked for a few weeks and see how it would work out.

Unfortunately, the glass back makes it as slippery as soap. The worst part is that I could probably live with a regular glass back during the summer because my hands tend to get a bit sweaty in warmer weather, which usually gives me enough grip to hold a phone comfortably. But the glossy finish found on Pixel phones seems to have negative grip, making the phone nigh-impossible to hold even in the middle of a fairly warm June.

So I ultimately decided to get a skin for the phone. I’m currently mulling over whether to get a Dbrand skin or opt for a cheaper alternative such as Qskinz, but the one thing I’m certain of is that I’ll get the grippiest skin possible. I’ll likely order Swarm (or Qskinz’s 3D Honeycomb), or one of the leather skins (the Dbrand Tan Leather skin looks sweet as heck), because everyone says they’re the grippiest options. Whatever I end up ordering, I’ll do it sooner rather than later because carrying my Pixel around naked is just asking for trouble.

Quick Tap could be so much better

Google has been unjustifiably neglecting it

Credit: Goran Damnjanovic / How-To Geek

The only thing I don’t like about Quick Tap is the sheer amount of unfulfilled potential the feature has. For starters, why doesn’t Google include a triple-tap gesture? It would work great and allow me to set up two actions instead of having to juggle them whenever I need to take more than a few screenshots.

Equipping the Google logo on the back of Pixel phones with touch sensitivity, however, would be a real game changer. We wouldn’t have to limit ourselves to taps; we’d also be able to map different actions to swipes. I don’t know about you, but that would be much more useful than, say, the temperature sensor.

Before I wrap this up, I’ve got one pro tip for you. If you find Quick Tap unreliable, try tapping the area below the Google logo highlighted with a red rectangle in the image above. In my experience, tapping this area activates Quick Tap 9 out of 10 times and is much more reliable than tapping the logo itself or the area between the logo and the camera island.

Quick Tap is quietly one of the most useful features on Pixels

Like Now Playing, Quick Tap is a feature that doesn’t get discussed much but has become one of my favorite Pixel features. I love that the device has so many handy yet overlooked features just waiting to be discovered.

If you’re looking for more overlooked Pixel features that can be super useful in certain situations, I recommend checking out Live Caption (Settings > Sound & vibration > Live Caption), Comfort View (Settings > Display > Comfort Filters), Adaptive Vibration (Settings > Sound & vibration > Vibration & haptics > Adaptive Vibration), and the option that makes your phone vibrate for a while before gradually increasing the ring volume during incoming calls (Settings > Sound & vibration > Vibration & haptics > Vibrate first, then ring gradually).

Brand

Google

SoC

Google Tensor G5

Looking to upgrade to a Pixel but not sure if you need all the bells and whistles of the more expensive models? You won’t be disappointed with the standard Pixel 10 model. Coming in striking colors, Gemini features, and seven years of updates, you can’t go wrong with this purchase.