There are speculations that tech giant Google is finally bringing a tap-to-pay feature to the Android Wear operating system. If this is true, smartwatches and other smart wearable devices running on Android Wear will soon allow users to pay for services and other purchases using various mobile payment options.
Evidence about the tap-to-pay feature making its way to the Android Wear platform was first reported by Android Police after going through Google Play Services version 10.0. The tech portal reported that it was able to uncover a string of text prompts that suggest Google is indeed working on the feature.
Android Police reported that one of the text prompts read, "Try holding your watch to the terminal again." This text prompt suggests that Google is working on an Android Wear feature that uses the NFC sensor to allow users to pay for goods on certain retail terminals.
Another new feature that many tech analysts agree is slated to be released soon is called Instant Apps. This feature, as the name suggests, allows users to use a certain app for a limited time without installing it. Android Police reported that Instant Apps has been rolled out for beta testing already.
The tap-to-pay feature for Android Wear is already available, but exclusive only to the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch provided that Samsung Pay is the mobile payment being used. The feature works on almost any Android device running KitKat 4.4 or later versions. Samsung supports mobile payment system for smart wearable devices as long as they run on the company's own Tizen operating system.
According to Engadget, despite the fact that tap-to-pay feature is already working its way into the Android Wear platform, the service will not be released to the public until early next year when Google rolls out the Android Wear 2.0 update.