Digital wallets are the way to go. Tapping to pay with your phone or smartwatch is way easier than pulling out your wallet, finding the right credit card and tapping that on the card reader. But it seems that Wear OS, which powers smartwatches including Pixel Watch 2, are introducing a change which some are calling disruptive.
According to Abner Li at 9to5Google, some Wear OS users are being required to enter a PIN before paying with Google Wallet. Previously they had the same experience as is always 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 the wrist (and even then, you can save yourself some tapping by unlocking your iPhone, which automatically unlocks the Watch). With Apple, all you need is to tap the side button twice, and there are safety capabilities hard-wired into that button.
With Google’s Wear OS devices, until now, no PIN was needed if the watch was on your wrist. But something different seems to be happening now. It’s not yet clear whether it’s a bug, a change or a test that’s being rolled out.
So, why should it be a change? Well, Google has just updated its authentication procedures for Google Wallet on the phone.
As the company pointed out on April 17, “Contactless payments from Google Wallet just got more secure. Before making a payment, you’ll now be prompted to confirm your identity – either by PIN, pattern, thumbprint, or Class 3 biometric unlock – with the option to turn off verification for transit fares.”
Note that there’s no mention of what device it refers to, so it could be for watches as well as phones.
It’s not the end of the world to tap in a pin, but it really is less convenient than shoving your watch at the card reader and looking smug when the person behind the counter says, “I’ve seen that on a phone but not on a watch,” or is that just me feeling full of myself?
