Abstract
- Google Wallet on Wear OS now supports loyalty cards, boarding passes, event tickets and more for convenient mobile transactions.
- Wear OS users can now access transit directions on Google Maps, allowing them to navigate public transit directly from their smartwatch.
- Improved integration of Google Wallet and Google Maps on Wear OS is coming soon via app updates or server-side pushes.
Despite Google’s renewed focus on Wear OS, there is a functional difference between many of its mobile and companion smartwatch apps. For example, you can use the Google Wallet app on your Android smartwatch to make contactless payments and display official ID cards. However, support for boarding passes and event tickets was missing. Amid a flurry of Android-related updates at MWC 2024, Google announced two major improvements to Wear OS, including one that fixes this pesky Google Wallet limitation.
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The Google Wallet app for Wear OS gets support for loyalty cards, boarding passes, event tickets and more. So the next time you’re at the airport or walking into your gym, you can use the Wallet app on your Android smartwatch to display the relevant pass QR code instead of taking out your phone.
This feature began rolling out to some Wallet users using a Wear OS 3.5 smartwatch in January 2024. You should receive a notification from the Wear OS Google Wallet app when pass support becomes available on your watch. Once set up, the app will automatically notify you of your upcoming flight and events. Tapping on it will bring up a QR code to scan. You can also choose which passes to show or hide according to your preferences.
It’s already possible to use Google Maps on your Wear OS watch to map navigation directions. However, there was no support for buses and other public transport. This is now changing, with the Google Maps app for Wear OS getting support for driving directions.
So you can get all the information about the bus, train or ferry you need to catch on your wrist. You can see departure or arrival times and get navigation directions to the bus stop or ferry you need to catch, all without taking your phone out of your pocket.
Deeper integration of Google Wallet and Google Maps into Wear OS should reach the best Android smartwatches in the coming days. These features will likely be rolled out via an app update or a server-side push from Google.