What you need to know
- Google and California announced last week that 1.5 million state residents can now add their mobile driver's license to Google Wallet.
- The company has previously said it is working to get more states on board with its digital ID program.
- Google Wallet got a few key upgrades this year, including the ability to create digital passes for basically anything, from tickets to store loyalty cards to insurance cards.
Google has been touting its digital ID program this year, explaining its plans to expand into more states and make the overall experience more universal. And last week, it added a sizable state to the mix: California, a state with a population of nearly 40 million. Together, Google and California announced a pilot program to allow an initial 1.5 million people to add their mobile IDs to Google Wallet.
One of the reasons why adoption of Android and iOS Mobile ID has been slow is that many US states are trying to build their own services from scratch rather than working with Apple or Google. Recently, New York State launched its own Mobile ID (MiD New York) program and required a standalone app. In fact, California had its own app (California DMV Wallet app) before it started the Google Wallet pilot program. The California DMV Wallet app will continue to be used as a separate option.
“It's now easier than ever for Californians to store their digital driver's license and identification,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “The state continues to work to provide convenience for people who opt into our mobile driver's license program, and now we have the option to use Google Wallet.”
To be clear, there's still a long way to go before Mobile ID is truly useful. Currently, Californians who store their driver's license in Google Wallet are required by law to carry a physical card, and the mobile version of the ID would only be useful when passing through TSA checkpoints at certain airports and some restaurants.
But the addition of California is still significant for Google Wallet, and it will become even more significant as the pilot program opens up to residents of more states. First, Google currently supports the same number of state IDs as Apple: Google Wallet supports Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland, while Apple Wallet supports Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio. Gaining a state the size of California, and one that already has its own mobile wallet app, are both big wins for Google.
Apple has announced that it will participate in a similar pilot program with the state of California, but Mobile ID will launch first in Google Wallet, and the timeline for support for Apple Wallet is unclear.
Until now, the big drawback of using Google Wallet over Apple Wallet has been that it supports fewer IDs, cards, passes, and tickets. Additionally, Google Pay is not available in as many places. I still have some reservations about the reliability and user experience of Google Wallet, but many of the “con's” of using Google Wallet are simply outdated. Google has made great strides this year alone, and the addition of Mobile California ID, while a big one, is not the best feature of Google Wallet these days.
Google Wallet has one advantage over Apple Wallet
Recently, Google has added a new feature to its wallet app: AnythingWhen you scan a card in your physical wallet, like an insurance card or a store rewards card, Google uses text recognition and AI smarts to turn it into a Google Wallet Pass. If everything works as expected, your passes will be created and organized without any manual user interaction. If you have passes that you need to keep safe, Google Wallet can automatically create private passes for those cards.
This feature alone makes Google Wallet more versatile than Apple Wallet. I've been a frequent user of both digital wallet apps for years, and I like that nearly every pass that supports a mobile version works with Apple Wallet, and there are even a few passes that support Apple Wallet. and Google Wallet, but few companies support it Exclusively.
With this feature, you don't even need cards, tickets, or passes that support a digital version to work with Google Wallet. Everything that's in your wallet should work in digital form, which is very convenient and helpful. Add in the fact that Google Wallet will add support for hundreds of banks in 2024, and it's clear that progress is being made. While I'm still skeptical of the usefulness of Mobile ID, California is a big win for Google Wallet.
Taking all these improvements together, Google Wallet is now poised to challenge Apple Wallet. I don't think many people will switch between iOS and Android because of the Wallet app, but that's not really important. iOS has been the clear winner for years because of Apple Wallet, but that's no longer the case. If Google can keep up its momentum in 2024, Google Wallet should be a driving force moving forward.
Best of Google
The Pixel 9 Pro is the ultimate Google phone, featuring the Tensor chip that powers all our new AI features, a camera system powered by the best in Google's computational photography, and because it's a Pixel, you get all of Google's most popular software at your fingertips.