Digital wallets are the way forward. Tapping to pay with your phone or smartwatch is much easier than pulling out your wallet, finding the right credit card, and tapping it on the card reader. But it appears that Wear OS, which powers smartwatches including the Pixel Watch 2, is introducing a change that some are calling disruptive.
According to Abner Li of 9to5Google, some Wear OS users need to enter a PIN before paying with Google Wallet. Previously, they had the same experience as is still the case with the Apple Watch: just open the wallet and tap.
In Apple’s case, the passcode is only required when you put the watch on your wrist (and even then you can save yourself a few clicks by unlocking your iPhone, which automatically unlocks the watch). With Apple, you just press the side button twice, and there are security features built into that button.
With Google’s Wear OS devices, until now, no PIN code was needed if the watch was on your wrist. But something different seems to be happening now. It is not yet known whether this is a bug, a change or a test currently being deployed.
So why should this be a change? Well, Google has just updated its authentication procedures for Google Wallet on phone.
As the company noted on April 17, “Google Wallet contactless payments are now more secure. Before making a payment, you will now be asked to confirm your identity – either by PIN, pattern, fingerprint or class 3 biometric unlock – with the option to opt out of transit fare verification.
Note that there is no mention of which device it is referring to, so it could be watches as well as phones.
It’s not the end of the world to insert a pin, but it’s definitely less convenient than holding your watch up to the card reader and looking smug when the person behind the counter says, “I I’ve seen this on a phone but not on a cell phone. a watch,” or am I just feeling full of myself?