The smartwatch on your wrist, assuming it is powered by Wear OS, could soon help you access your hotel, show a campus ID, or become a corporate badge. That’s according to a changelog for the December Google Play services update that is rolling out to the Android platform.
Google maintains a Google System Release Notes page that we follow closely, as it shares updates to items that could come to your phone or watch or tablet, but that do so without a system update. As many of you know, Google Play services is a way for Google to push sometimes significant changes to the Android platform without device makers needing to issue a full update. And that’s what we have for the month of December.
In Google Play services v24.47 that started rolling out yesterday (12/2), Google expects Wear OS to act as a device with the power of an access card. Specifically, it says that “you can use your hotel keys, campus IDs, and corporate badges” from your wrist.
Wallet
- [Phone, Wear] With the access cards on wearables feature, you can use your hotel keys, campus IDs, and corporate badges on Android wearable devices.
- [Phone, Wear] You’ll now be able to use Google Wallet in more countries.
How will this all work? Hah, that’s the thing here. Google does a great job of updating this Google System Release Notes page, but rarely tells us when these things are coming. They bring up new ideas and features that catch our eye, only they offer little in terms of timing specifics or which devices might see them. That’s sort of the case again here, although with it being December, there is a chance that these new Wear OS items arrive in a December Feature Drop.
We’ll be sure to let you know if we find more specifics. And be sure to let us know if you can randomly access your hotel room with your Wear OS Watch.