ThinkPhone by motorola

Motorola · catalog updated 2026-10-21

Brand: Motorola
Kind: Android phone · released 2023-01
Model codes: ThinkPhone by motorola

Announced January 2023; Motorola said it would ship in the following months.

Gestures on the ThinkPhone by motorola

Double-tap the back of the phone (Quick launch)

DocumentedInput: Back tap

Requires: Motorola models whose user guide lists Quick launch (see the models list); Motorola's Android 12 guides call it Custom shortcut

Set it up

Settings
Gestures
Quick launch
Quick launch: On
Settings icon
Open an app of your choice
Quick signal: back tap

Also reachable from the Moto app: menu > Gestures (Actions on older builds). On Android 12 builds (moto g71 5G, moto g72) Motorola's guide puts it under Settings > System > Gestures > Custom shortcut. The action wording follows Motorola's user guide; the on-device label can differ slightly. Tap strength is adjustable under Quick launch > settings icon > Tap strength; a thick case can stop taps registering. Not every Motorola has it: the guides for e.g. motorola edge 30, motorola edge (2022), moto g play - 2024, moto g04, moto g15, moto g24 and moto g35 5G do not list it. One event is one double tap.

Sources

Single-press the Red Key on the side of the phone

DocumentedInput: Extra key

Requires: ThinkPhone by motorola

Set it up

Settings
Gestures
Red key shortcuts
Launch app
Quick signal: key

Holding the Red Key also opens its settings. Double press is reserved for Ready For actions. If the Microsoft Teams Walkie Talkie option is chosen it replaces the app launch, and IT admins can reassign the key on managed devices. Motorola's announcement says the customizable Red Key opens business apps; the menu path comes from Android Central and 9to5Google because Motorola's ThinkPhone help guide does not cover the key.

Sources

Plus what the app offers on every Android phone: In-app button, Widget, Quick Settings tile, Shake, Volume keys, Voice phrase. How to set those up

Recommended presets

Shake ×3Sends a signal
Three sharp shakes within 2.5 s: hard to do by accident, easy to do without looking.
Shake ×3, 0.15–1 s apart · whole gesture within 2.5 s
Widget ×2Sends a signal
Two taps on the home-screen widget within 3 s; a single accidental tap does nothing.
Widget ×2, 0.1–3 s apart · whole gesture within 3 s
Back tap ×3Sends a signal
Three back double-taps within ten seconds: works with the screen off, discreet, and unlikely to happen by accident.
Back tap ×3, 0.3–3 s apart · whole gesture within 10 s
Back tap ×2, then shake ×2Sends a signal
Two back double-taps followed by two sharp shakes; mixing inputs makes a pocket or bag false alarm very unlikely.
Back tap ×2, 0.3–3 s apart → then within 5 s: Shake ×2, 0.1–1.5 s apart · whole gesture within 15 s
Red Key ×3Sends a signal
Three presses of the ThinkPhone Red Key; the separate key is easy to reach blind and repeating it avoids accidental fires.
Extra key ×3, 0.3–2.5 s apart · whole gesture within 10 s

Gestures are set up in the phone settings as shown, then combined into a trigger recipe in the app, where practice mode shows step by step whether a gesture would trigger.