This Galaxy S20 guide explains the commonly used Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures and shows you how to use them. The 8 Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures covered are tapping, double-tapping, triple-tapping, long-tapping (tapping and holding), swiping, dragging, pinching and spreading.
We seldom attach a physical keyboard or mouse to Galaxy S20 (except using Samsung DeX). So, the touchscreen is the interface between the user and the Galaxy S20.
The phone takes commands from us through Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures. We interact with the apps through those gestures, most of the time.
Since Android 10, Google removed the navigation buttons by default and recommended gestures for all navigations. Of course, Galaxy S20 still allows you to choose between using buttons or navigation gestures.
More and more Android apps also prefer gestures over buttons.
Anyway, it is hard to use the phone effectively without mastering Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures.
You will need to use the following touchscreen gestures on Galaxy S20:
All of the 8 Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures are universal on all Android phones. They work on almost all Android phones and therefore are not unique to Galaxy S20.
But the functions of each gesture may depend on individual apps.
Now, let's go through these 8 Galaxy S20 navigation gestures one by one.
Please note, we use “tap” in this guide. Other developers or writers may prefer “press”. They are identical for touchscreen gestures.
The tapping gesture (aka single tapping), as shown in the animation below, requires you touch somewhere on the Galaxy S20 screen once, then move your finger away from the screen.
This gesture will be then registered as tapping, which is one of the most fundamental Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures. It corresponds to “click” when using a mouse.
The outcome of the tapping gesture depends on what you tapped.
Here are some example of using tapping gesture on Galaxy S20:
You can track the tapping location on the screen in Galaxy S20 developer options.
Double-tapping gesture requires you to quickly tap the same location or button twice as shown in the animation below.
If the interval between two tappings is too long (e.g., longer than 2 seconds), the gesture will be registered as single tapping.
The double-tapping gesture corresponds to the double-click of a mouse.
But the functions of double click/double-tapping are quite different in Windows/Mac/Linux, and Android. In the PC, the double click is normally used to open an item (e.g., an app, a folder). In Android, the double-tapping gesture is usually used for waking up some features.
Here are some examples of using the double-tapping gesture on Galaxy S20:
Tripple-tapping gesture is a variation to double-tapping. You just need to tap the same location three times quickly.
This is one of special Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures.
On Galaxy S20, the triple-tapping gesture is reserved for screen magnifying.
By default, the screen magnifying is disabled. You can enable it in Settings — Accessibility —Visibility enhancements—Magnification—Triple tap screen to magnify.
The long tapping (tapping and holding) gesture requires you to tap the screen, then keep the finger on the screen (hold) for more than 2 seconds, as shown in the animation below.
If you release your finger from the screen too early, it will be registered as a single tapping gesture.
The long-tapping gesture corresponds to the right-click with a mouse.
On Galaxy S20, the long-tapping gesture, one of the most frequently used Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures among advanced users, usually is used
Here are some examples of using the long-tapping (tapping and holding) gesture on Galaxy S20:
Swipe]ing gesture (aka sliding in old Android) requires you to lightly drag your finger vertically or horizontally across the Galaxy S20 touchscreen as shown in the animation below.
During this period, your finger should always touch the screen. Otherwise, it will be registered as a single tapping.
Here are some examples using the swipe gesture in Galaxy S20:
The dragging gesture requires you to starts with long-tapping on an object then moves the finger on the screen. You can release your finger when it reaches the desired destination, as shown in the animation below.
Your finger should not leave the screen in the whole process.
The differences between swiping gesture and dragging gestures, the two most similar Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures, include:
The dragging gesture corresponds to click and drag with a mouse.
On Galaxy S20, you may use the dragging gesture:
The pinching gesture requires you to move two (any two) fingers inward to a commonplace on the Galaxy S20 touchscreen, a shown in the animation below.
You can use the pinching gesture on Galaxy S20:
The spreading gesture is the opposite of the pinching gesture.
To register a spreading gesture, you need to move two fingers outward (i.e., separate two fingers), as shown in the animation below.
Normally, the spreading gesture is used together with the pinching gesture.
If you have any questions on using the Galaxy S20 touchscreen gestures on Galaxy S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra, please let us know in the comment box below.
The community will help you get the answer.
If you have any questions on Galaxy S20, you may check other Galaxy S20 guides:
You can also join us on our Facebook page.
Android OS update for the Galaxy S20 has stopped at Android 13 (One UI 5.1). So, there will be no… Read More
Enhanced processing is one of the prominent new features in Galaxy S20 Android 11 update. This Galaxy S20 guide explains… Read More
Galaxy S20 Android 11 update revamped the widgets on Galaxy S20 lock screen. It is more than a name change… Read More
You can update Galaxy S20 to Android 11 to enjoy enhanced security and privacy, One UI 3.0, and new Android… Read More
Galaxy S20 lockdown mode allows you to turn off biometric and smart lock in some special situations to enhance security… Read More
Samsung officially released Galaxy S20 Android 11 update in early December 2020 globally. Galaxy S20 owners in most regions will… Read More