The Samsung Galaxy A13 is an affordable Android smartphone that was released in 2022. One useful feature that some smartphones have is “tap to wake”, which allows you to tap the screen to turn the display on rather than having to press the power button. In this article, we’ll look at whether or not the Galaxy A13 has a tap to wake feature.
What is Tap to Wake?
Tap to wake, also sometimes called double tap to wake, is a feature where you can double tap on the screen of your turned off smartphone to instantly turn the display on and unlock it. This allows you to quickly check notifications, the time, or anything else without having to fumble to press the power button on the side of the phone.
It’s a very convenient feature to have, allowing you to easily wake your phone just by tapping the screen twice. Many flagship and even mid-range smartphones support tap to wake, but it’s not always a given, especially on more affordable devices.
Does the Galaxy A13 Have Tap to Wake?
Unfortunately, no, the Samsung Galaxy A13 does not have a tap to wake feature. You’ll need to use the power button located on the right side of the phone any time you want to wake the A13’s display from sleep mode.
Samsung does not list tap to wake as one of the A13’s features, and reviews of the device confirm that it lacks the double tap screen functionality to instantly wake it.
This isn’t too surprising given the Galaxy A13’s budget price point, but it’s an omission that some users who are accustomed to tap to wake on other devices may miss. The power button is still quite convenient to wake the A13 display though.
Why Doesn’t the A13 Have Tap to Wake?
There are a few potential reasons why Samsung did not include tap to wake on the affordable A13:
- Cost cutting – Leaving out certain non-essential features like tap to wake allows Samsung to hit lower price points for the A13.
- Hardware limitations – Implementing tap to wake requires specific display driver hardware that may have increased the A13’s costs.
- Battery life preservation – Using the power button instead of tap to wake could provide small battery life savings.
So in an effort to keep the A13 affordable, it seems Samsung had to cut some corners, one of which was the tap to wake function.
Are There Workarounds to Get Tap to Wake?
Unfortunately, on the Samsung Galaxy A13, there is no way to enable a true hardware-level tap to wake feature since the phone lacks the necessary display driver hardware and integration in its software.
However, there are some limited workarounds using third party apps that can approximate tap to wake behavior by keeping the screen listening for touch input even when the display is off.
Here are some apps that provide tap to wake-like functions:
Tap Tap
The Tap Tap app uses your device’s sensors to detect tap patterns while the screen is off. After installing it, you can configure a double tap gesture to turn on the display. It’s not as seamless as a true hardware tap to wake, but can approximate the behavior.
Tap to Wake
Similarly, the aptly named “Tap to Wake” app sets up sensor monitoring and allows double tap gestures to trigger the display. Annoyingly, the app displays advertising banners which can interfere with its functionality unless you do an in-app purchase.
The reliability of these apps can vary across devices and Android versions. But they can help enable a form of tap to wake on devices like the Galaxy A13 that otherwise lack the feature. Just don’t expect an experience as smooth as if it was built-in.
Will Future Galaxy A Series Phones Get Tap to Wake?
It’s likely that future generations of Samsung’s budget and mid-range Galaxy A series phones will gain true integrated tap to wake features.
As the underlying display hardware and driver components required for tap to wake get cheaper over time, Samsung should be able to implement it even on affordable models without significantly raising costs.
And as users get more accustomed to having features like tap to wake, the demand for it on less expensive Galaxy phones may rise until Samsung decides to make it standard. We’ve seen this type of feature diffusion happen before as things that once started out as flagship phone capabilities eventually became more ubiquitous.
So while the Galaxy A13 misses out for now, look for tap to wake to potentially show up across more of Samsung’s lineup down the road.
Conclusion
To summarize the key points in this article:
- Tap to wake allows waking a phone’s display by simply double tapping the screen.
- The budget Samsung Galaxy A13 unfortunately does not support tap to wake.
- Using the power button is the only way to wake the A13 from sleep currently.
- Cost cutting measures and hardware limitations are likely why tap to wake was excluded.
- Third party apps can approximate tap to wake functions to an extent.
- Future Galaxy A series phones will hopefully gain true integrated tap to wake.
So in the end, if tap to wake capabilities are import to you, the A13 isn’t the most optimal choice currently. But alternatives in Samsung’s lineup may add the feature over time.
Considering the Samsung Galaxy A13’s very budget-friendly pricing though, missing out on small conveniences like tap to wake may be perfectly acceptable compromises for some users. It can still handle all essential smartphone tasks without issue.
But anyone who demands more premium features and performance may want to consider saving up for at least a Galaxy A23 or A33 model instead, which should provide upgrades like smoother displays more capable of supporting tap to wake capabilities moving forward.
