Wear OS smartwatches are getting loyalty cards, a cool new addition to Google Wallet on Wear OS, thanks to the latest update for the operating system.
Previously, the best smartwatches on Wear OS, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (even though Samsung Wallet is technically its own thing) or the Google Pixel Watch 2, could only access credit or debit cards in Google Wallet.
If you wanted to wirelessly scan a digital loyalty card from the likes of Starbucks or Barnes and Noble in the US, or Waterstones in the UK, you’d have to pull out your phone, rendering the convenience of paying for stuff on your wrist largely moot. However, update 23.46.x, which started rolling out to Wear OS watches, will automatically pull all your loyalty cards in Google Wallet through to your watch, providing it runs Wear OS 3.5 or higher and it’s fully updated.
As highlighted by 9to5Google, you can scroll down through payment methods to see a list of all your loyalty cards, and you can simply tap on the one you want to bring it up like any other credit or debit card.
Expired passes won’t be pulled through, nor will health insurance cards. The new update also offers in-app payment notifications, rather than those notifications coming from Google Play Services on your phone, so it’s all in one place.
How to update your Wear OS watch
- Ensure your Wear OS watch is near your phone, which is connected to the internet.
- Open Settings.
- Scroll down to System, and tap it.
- Tap Software and Updates.
- If an update is available, your watch will provide an option to download and install it.
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