HTC One M8 for Windows borrows double-tap to wake feature from Nokia

When the Windows Phone 8.1 SDK leaked back in February, double-tap to wake was seen in the documentation, suggesting that Nokia's tech was being opened to all OEMs. Fast-forward to August and HTC's new One for Windows is the first non-Lumia Windows Phone to feature this useful technology.

Double-tap to wake came to Nokia Lumias in mid-2013. The optional tool lets users tap their display twice when it is off, letting people turn on their phones without using the power-button. Double-tap has always been a useful feature, especially if you only have one-hand available and you would like to use your phone.

For HTC, the feature goes by the name Motion Launch, and it is located under Settings. Users can enable or disable the feature, as technically this does consume minimal amounts of battery and some people may just not like it.

Motion Launch is not only beneficial for Lumia users considering switching, but it is also necessary for the interactive Dot View case (demo of it and its Cortana integration coming up shortly). Overall though, Motion Launch behaves just like the Nokia's version, making Lumia users feel right at home.

Will other Windows Phone manufacturers follow? We hope so. Watch our video demo above to see it all in action!

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.