Google Wallet is the classic example of “incompleteness” of Wear OS. Until now, the app on the watch was limited to digital payments only, which of course is its main function, but there is much more. In fact, Google Wallet also stores data on smartphones loyalty cards, gift cardstiles for the public transport (no Italian company, for now) and more; all information so far not accessible via the Wear OS app. Until now, in fact.
With the latest update of Google Wallet for Wear OS, loyalty cards are (finally) arriving! Now you can go to supermarketfrom IKEA, H&M and many other shops, without actually ever taking your phone out of your pocket. In fact, with the smartwatch you access the services available via the loyalty card, and then, again using the watch, pay at the cash register.
It certainly won’t be a revolution, but it’s a more than necessary addition, considering that the smartphone app has had this option for years, and there was no reason not to show the bar/QR codes of loyalty cards on smartwatches too.
Using them then is very simple: just launch the Google Wallet app on Wear OS (there are often dedicated shortcuts), and scroll through the available cards. At the end of the credit cards you will find the list of loyalty cards already stored: touch the desired one and the relevant barcode / QR will open on the watch, with the brightness at maximum, ready to be read. What if you want to add a new one? For that you have to go through the phone, as always, but in the end in this case it’s really more convenient.
