Last month, we uncovered evidence suggesting that Google was developing a new Quick Settings tile for Google Wallet. Now, the tech giant has confirmed that this feature is officially available.
Google announced that the new Quick Settings Wallet tile is included in the latest Google Play Services update (version 24.33). If you’re wondering why this matters, given that Android devices already have a Quick Settings tile for Wallet, here’s the explanation.
Since the release of Android 12, Android phones have featured a Quick Settings tile for Google Wallet, known as the Quick Access Wallet. However, this was a system-level feature that smartphone manufacturers could choose to disable. The new Quick Settings Wallet tile, however, is a separate entity from the existing system-level solution. This means users can still quickly access Google Wallet even if manufacturers block the original Quick Access Wallet tile or if their devices run an older version of Android that doesn’t support the previous tile.
In addition to this new Wallet tile, the Play Services update introduces two other notable changes. The first enhancement involves “more functionality for transit cards in Wallet.” While the specifics remain unclear, recent findings indicate that Wallet may soon allow users to assign nicknames to their transit cards for easier management.
Moreover, the update adds digital car key support for Wear OS. This move aligns with recent developments, as the Pixel Watch 3 already supports digital car keys, extending this convenient feature to more devices within the Wear OS ecosystem.
