Google today announced a total overhaul of its Google Pay apps designed for iOS and Android devices, with a new emphasis on keeping track of finances and managing financial relationships with people and businesses.
The updated Google Pay app will display the friends and businesses you interact with most often rather than a simple list of all transactions. Built-in tools allow for splitting expenses and calculating totals with another person, and the Google Pay app can be used to order food, buy gas, and more.
Integrated coupons and promo codes are included, and these can be activated with a tap. For those who have a bank account or cards connected to Google Pay, the app will now provide periodic spending summaries and show trends and insights over time, similar to how Apple Card works in the Wallet app on iOS devices.
Starting in 2021, Google plans to further enhance Google Pay with a new mobile-first banking experience. Google is partnering with 11 financial institutions for "Plex," a bank account integrated in Google Pay.
Plex accounts are offered by banks and credit unions and include checking and savings accounts with no monthly fees or overdraft charges. Plex accounts through Google Pay will be available to customers when the feature launches. Apple has an integrated credit card that works with Apple Pay, the Apple Card, but there is no similar feature for a full bank account.
The folks behind Plex ('http://plex.tv') must love/hate this. Seems like they either have no chance and will basically lose their name in terms of consumer awareness, or else (in the more unlikely scenario) they have a decent basis for a lawsuit that'll pay out a hefty sum.
Or if it's like 90% of Google initiatives, they'll drop support for it early next year and it's a non-issue ;)
I bet thats where the emphasis is. A bank account so Google have full access to all my transactions, along with my e-mail and search history? Sign me up! Do I get a free Fitbit?
Android users, later this year, will have the ability to opt-out of tracking across apps on Android devices, limiting the ability for apps to access their unique advertising ID, Google announced in a support page update (via Bloomberg). The new change, in theory, is similar to Apple's recently launched ATT, or App Tracking Transparency framework; however, it differs in direct...
Thursday April 22, 2021 1:55 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
After several false dawns, Apple Pay looks finally ready to come to Israel early next month, based on local reports.
According to Hebrew-language site Calcalist, barring a last-minute change, Apple is expected to launch its digital payment system in the country in the first week of May.
Several previous reports over the last year have hinted at an imminent Apple Pay launch in Israel, but...
Following its announcement last month, Apple today officially flipped the switch to allow parents to share their Apple Card with their teenagers or friends and the ability for spouses to co-own a single Apple Card account. However, one notable feature that didn't get released today is the ability for two separate Apple Card accounts to be merged into one.
Apple announced the feature last...
For as long as it's existed, Google Photos has offered free unlimited storage for uploading images at a reduced yet good enough quality for most users. From June 1, 2021, however, all photos and videos uploaded to Google accounts will count against users' cloud storage. If you've been relying on Google to back up your media library, it may be time to move that content elsewhere. This article...
Following the completed rollout of App Privacy labels for its App Store apps, Google today updated the Google Maps app for the first time in four months.
Apple in December began requiring all new app submissions and app updates to include App Privacy labels, detailing the data that is collected by the app so consumers know what they're sharing.
Google didn't begin implementing App Privacy ...
Google is adding a new "Save to Photos" button to Gmail that, when pressed, automatically saves emailed picture attachments to Google Photos.
The new feature means Gmail users will no longer have to download photo attachments from messages in order to manually back them up to Google Photos.
The "Save to Photos" option will go alongside the existing "Add to Drive" button that appears when...
Wednesday May 19, 2021 1:00 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Google Photos is getting a new AI-driven feature that can take two similar pictures in your iPhone's camera roll and turn them into a single moving shot, reports The Verge.
Google says the feature achieves this by using machine learning to generate additional frames between the two images, which creates the appearance of movement.
If you've taken several shots in succession, for example,...
Wednesday January 20, 2021 12:46 pm PST by Juli Clover
As of December 8, Apple has been requiring developers submitting new apps and app updates to provide privacy label information that outlines the data that each app collects from users when it is installed.
Many app developers, such as Facebook, have complied and now include the privacy labels alongside their apps, but there's one notable outlier -- Google.
Google has not updated its major ...
Apple's AirTags are being used in an increasing number of targeted car thefts in Canada, according to local police.
Outlined in a news release from York Regional Police, investigators have identified a new method being used by thieves to track down and steal high-end vehicles that takes advantage of the AirTag's location tracking capabilities. While the method of stealing the cars is largely ...
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has encouraged customers to buy the "Cyberwhistle" for $50 instead of Apple's much-discussed Polishing Cloth.
The product page, which Musk shared on Twitter on Tuesday evening, offers a limited edition stainless steel whistle with the same distinctive design of the Tesla Cybertruck:Inspired by Cybertruck, the limited-edition Cyberwhistle is a premium collectible made from ...
Tuesday November 30, 2021 1:51 pm PST by Juli Clover
In 2022, Apple is going to release an updated version of the MacBook Air with some of the biggest design changes that we've seen since 2010, when Apple introduced the 11 and 13-inch size options. In the video below, we highlight five features that you need to know about the new machine.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. No More Wedge Design - Current MacBook...
Thursday December 2, 2021 12:05 am PST by Juli Clover
Along with naming its editorial picks for the top apps and games of 2021, Apple today shared charts for the most downloaded free and paid apps and games in the United States across 2021.
The number one most downloaded free iPhone app was TikTok, followed by YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook. The top paid iPhone apps included Procreate Pocket, HotSchedules, The Wonder Weeks, and Touch...
Tuesday November 30, 2021 8:08 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to release a third-generation iPhone SE in the first quarter of 2022, according to Taiwanese research firm TrendForce. If this timeframe proves to be accurate, we can expect the device to be released by the end of March.
As previously rumored, TrendForce said the new iPhone SE will remain a mid-range smartphone with added support for 5G:In terms of product development, Apple is...
Thursday December 2, 2021 7:36 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's chipmaking partner TSMC has kicked off pilot production of chips built on its 3nm process, known as N3, according to Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes.
The report, citing unnamed industry sources, claims that TSMC will move the process to volume production by the fourth quarter of 2022 and start shipping 3nm chips to customers like Apple and Intel in the first quarter of...
Apple is planning to replace the iPhone with an augmented reality (AR) headset in 10 years, a process that is apparently due to start as soon as next year with the launch of a head-mounted device, according to a recent report.
Concept render of Apple's rumored AR headset by Antonio De Rosa In a note to investors seen by MacRumors, eminent analyst Ming-Chi Kuo explained that "Apple's goal is...
Top Rated Comments
Although if they become currency I might finally be a wealthy man!
A bank account so Google have full access to all my transactions, along with my e-mail and search history?
Sign me up! Do I get a free Fitbit?