Tap - The All in One Computing Accessory
Have you ever had the chance to interact with your computing device in a different way? The TAP is a device that allows you to take everything you know about the “traditional” way you interact with your Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc and try something new. It’s a device that you wear on your hand that unlocks the power of creativity and functionality at your fingertips.
Let’s start with the unboxing experience. The team at TAP designed a really nice package that the TAP ships in, which gives you a premium feel out of the box. The TAP retails for $199.00, and recently I saw some discounts as low as $125.00 on Amazon! I really like the hard plastic case that the TAP is presented in with the finger loop rings. It reminds me of the first generation of the Snapchat Spectacles. Does anyone remember those? It was a case with magnets to help the product snap into place that also charged the device.
One item I would have liked to see changed is that the device charges via micro USB. Although not a dealbreaker, it’d simply be nice to live in as much of a USB C world as possible when charging out devices. The TAP comes in two sizes, Small/ Medium and Large. They have a sizing chart on their website here, to ensure you’re getting the best fit.
Well let’s get started with turning on the device. It wasn’t super clear how to turn on the TAP, so I adjusted it on my right hand (which is my dominant hand) and launched the Bluetooth preference on my Mac. In a few seconds the TAP device appeared and the pairing device was pretty seamless. One thing to call out, as this device is capable of a mouse, keyboard, and pointing device so the Mac was confused what type of keyboard this was. I simply closed the pop up from the Mac and continued along with the TAP.
The model that I used is the Tap Strap 2, which is the 2nd generation of their product. Although I haven’t used the first generation, I have done research and it appears they enhanced v2 with feedback they received from customers with the main enhancement being increased mouse functionality.
One item that was initially driving me a bit crazy was the amount of vibration that happens in the thumb loop. Thankfully, I was able to disable this by navigating to Settings - Vibration - and turning this feature off which really enhanced my experience.
Now I was able to run this App on my Mac as I did all testing and the writing of this article on my M1 Macbook Air. For anyone on an intel Mac you can run this Tap Manager App on your iPad. You can download the App right here. Reminder, that all Macs running Apple Silicon (M1 processors) are capable of running iPhone and iPads apps. This was a great way for me to continue to use the Tap with my Mac.
So the setup of the Tap via the App is quite simple. It runs you though some steps as to how to use the Tap as a keyboard. Quite clever how a single tap with any of your five fingers are typing out the vowels in the alphabet. A-E-I-O-U. Tapping with all 5 fingers is a space, Tapping with 3 fingers is delete. There is hands down a learning curve, but once you get it you’re off to the races tapping more than you ever have before.
Typing with the TAP!
The amount of accessibility potential here is huge for someone who perhaps has more dexterity tapping with one hand rather than using the “conventional keyboard and mouse” input. I also really enjoyed the integrations that TAP possesses. From the mobile App if you navigate to Apps or to Maps, you will see a plethora of integrations that the Tap team has cultivated.
If you are looking for new and exciting ways to communicate with the tech we use every day, the TAP is a great option for you. From the setup process, to the learning curve, and even to the integrations, it is clear that the team at TAP are always looking for ways to make their product better. It’s refreshing to see products like this hit the market and continue to improve and update. Giving the consumer more choice is a powerful way to continue to grow as a tech community to ensure productivity, inclusion, and choice for all.
Be well everyone! 🚀
-Joe
