The Nexus 5 is one hell of an impressive device – as we found out in our review – but, what this being a Nexus device, there’s unlocked potential just waiting to be unlocked. Many users swear by Nexus devices because of the incredibly talented developers that continue to build ROMs, Kernels, Mods and more for our beloved Nexi. The Nexus 5 has quickly gained a number of ROMs and Kernels but, more recently, it’s been given a feature from LG’s other hit phone, the G2, that many have been wishing for on their own device: KnockON. Or KnockKnock or doubletap2wake as it’s been known in the developer community.
Thanks to a number of hardworking developers, the Nexus 5 can now get KnockON functionality. Right now it’s available in the Bricked, ElementalX and Faux123 kernels and thanks to some smart reworking of the code, there only appears to be a slight effect on battery life with this new implementation, an extra 0.5-1%. Which, depending on your outlook really isn’t that bad to get access to such a feature.
I’ve been trying this out with the latest beta of the Bricked kernel on my Nexus 5 and I have to say that it works very, very well. When I first saw KnockON from the G2, I instantly wanted it on my own device. It makes checking notifications when my phone is on a desk or table extremely easy and let’s be honest here, it’s a pretty neat trick to show those iPhone-using “friends” of yours. Take a look at the video of the Bricked kernel in action:
Enabling the feature whne using the Bricked kernel is pretty easy, you can either do so by purchasing the KControl app from the Play Store or by issuing the following command from a terminal emulator on your device: “echo 1 > /sys/android_touch/doubletap2wake”. Either way, it’s simple to turn on and off and doesn’t have any effect on your device’s performance, which is nice as the Nexus 5 is an incredibly fast device.