This story is part of WWDC 2022, the full coverage of CNET by and for Apple’s annual developer conference.
What is happening
iOS 16 and Android 13 come with new features that aim to replace your physical wallet and improve connections to smart home gadgets and connected car interfaces.
Why it matters
The updates highlight the shared vision of Apple and Google to make our phones more important in everyday life.
Your smartphone is about to become even more closely connected to the non-digital aspects of your life. This is one of the main conclusions from iOS 16 and Android 13, the new updates of mobile software coming later this year from Apple and Google. Both technology giants want to turn your phone into a digital wallet for storing your legal ID and other key documents, bringing your phone closer to your identity than ever before. Companies are also continuing to improve the way phones communicate with cars, smart home gadgets and other everyday devices.
Both iOS 16 and Android 13 are full of settings and new features, some of which are more important than digital wallets and faster connections (such as Apple’s security checker to protect victims of domestic violence and new updates. for Google privacy). But the overlap between the two operating systems underscores the changing role of the phone in our lives. Based on the latest announcements from Apple and Google, what is happening around your phone will be just as important as what is happening on your phone.
The more intimately our phones are connected to everyday things like wallets, credit cards, cars and household appliances, the harder it will be to move away from them (or switch between iPhone and Android). The concept is not new; the industry has been moving in this direction for years. But changes in iOS 16 and Android 13 are making important improvements in Apple and Google’s respective approaches, which are likely to accelerate such efforts.
Read more: iOS 16 lock screen upgrades make iPhone more like a smartwatch
Replacement of the physical wallet
Google is adding digital driver’s licenses to Google Wallet.
Google; screenshot from CNET
The digital wallet was a big focus both during the announcement of Apple’s iOS 16 and during the preview of Google’s Android 13. The most significant change to Apple Pay is the new option called Apple Pay Later, which divides the purchase price into four equal installments over six weeks. With iOS 16, ID cards stored in Apple Wallet can also be used to verify your age in apps. The add-on comes after Apple first added support for digital ID numbers last year.
Meanwhile, Google described in detail a major overhaul of its Wallet app during its I / O conference last month, which speeds it up with Apple. The new Google Wallet will store personal documents such as payment and transit cards, vaccination records, boarding passes and student documents, similar to the Apple Wallet. Google also works with government agencies to maintain digital ID numbers.
Taken together, the Apple and Google updates represent another step toward their common goal of making physical wallets obsolete – a change that will inevitably make us even more mobile-dependent.
Google reiterated this ambition just before revealing details about new Google I / O updates in May.
“Actually, these days there are only two things I don’t leave home without: my phone and my wallet,” said Samir Samat, vice president of product management for Android and Google Play. So the question is, can my phone replace my wallet?
Corey Fugman, Apple’s senior director for Wallet and Apple Pay, made similar remarks during WWDC’s keynote address on Monday.
“With Apple Wallet, we’re working hard on our goal of replacing your physical wallet,” he said.
People have already embraced the idea of replacing physical credit cards with payment applications based on smartphones. The use of mobile payment systems in stores such as Apple Pay is expected to exceed 50% of all smartphone users in the United States by 2025, according to a 2021 eMarketer report. Apple’s new Pay Later option and Google’s renewed focus on your own mobile wallet could make the idea of leaving your physical wallet at home even more appealing.
Read more: What WatchOS 9 may reveal for the next Apple Watch
Your phone, everywhere
Google’s new visual search tool describes products on a busy store shelf.
Screenshot by Stephen Shankland / CNET
Wallet replacement is just one of the ways in which Apple and Google hope to make our phones more useful offline in everyday life. Both companies have also introduced camera-based smartphone tools that could make navigation in real-world points of interest easier. Another important topic is the increased interconnection between mobile devices and household appliances, cars and speakers.
Apple and Google believe that the camera will continue to play a big role in the way we interact with the world around us. In iOS 16, you’ll be able to translate text into a variety of languages using a new camera option in Apple’s Translate app. During its main presentation at WWDC, the company demonstrated how this can be used to translate an entire restaurant menu into a different language. You will also be able to track a flight or convert currency just by tapping text on a photo.
Google has unveiled an ambitious extension of its Lens app called Google I / O’s “scene explorer”, which essentially applies its real-world search skills. You swipe your phone’s camera on a product shelf and it will overlay information and ratings on the screen to help you find the right choice. Google search manager Prabhakar Ragavan cited the possibility of finding nut-free snacks or fragrance-free lotions in a physical store as an example.
The implementation may be different, but the concept is similar. We are already used to ordering food, taxis and essentials at the touch of a button on our phones. Now Apple and Google want to make our phones a critical part of these tasks in the real world, and the camera will be a major part of that.
Google and Apple have also refined their respective visions to turn our phone into a connection hub for other devices around us. Google has explained how Android 13 will make your phone better when connected to other devices with support for fast pairing, automatic switching of sound between devices and the ability to more easily synchronize messages between your phone and computer. It also unveiled a new split-screen interface for Android Auto that should make multitasking easier when you’re on the go.
Read more: New Apple Watch SE sounds more exciting than Series 8. That’s why
The new CarPlay interface, inspired by iOS.
Apple
Apple has simplified the process of managing HomeKit devices with a redesigned iPhone home app. But perhaps the biggest area in which Apple plans to expand the range of the iPhone is the car. The company is annoyed by the update of its CarPlay software, which looks like a whole car operating system, full of application icons, gadgets and other UI elements reminiscent of the iPhone and Apple Watch.
Smart home and connected car are not new ideas. Both have been an integral part of Apple and Google’s respective strategies for years. But iOS 16 and Android 13 clarify how Apple’s and Google’s visions for these devices need to communicate and interact.
As the smartphone becomes connected to everything from your credit card to the thermostat and your car, Apple and Google make its aesthetics more personal. When iOS 16 launches this fall, your iPhone will get a brand new lock screen with support for Apple Watch-style gadgets and new photo background effects. Google is expanding its Material You with pre-made color sets that can be applied throughout the operating system.
IOS 16 and Android 13 have much more than new wallet functionality, real-world camera tools and improved connectivity. These updates not only signal how important the phone is for both our online and offline lives, they also point to where the industry is heading.
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