In addition to storing various things, including payment details and digital keys, Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet also have differences.
Samsung Wallet is a new mobile app created for storing payment cards, digital car keys, identification cards, and more, and if it sounds familiar, that is because the new Google Wallet is designed to do the same things. But despite the similarities between both, there are some differences too. In addition, Samsung and Google are not the only ones with a wallet app. Apple also has its own called ‘Apple Wallet,’ and it comes preinstalled with iPhones.
The Apple Wallet app also stores payment cards, boarding passes, tickets, digital car keys, home keys, identity cards and even vaccination cards. However, despite these digital wallets’ advantages, not everyone is on board yet. For example, some governments are yet to approve support for storing identification cards on phones, while several car manufacturers would prefer if car owners used their own apps for unlocking and locking their vehicles.
Samsung Wallet is a fusion of Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass. Samsung Pay is its mobile payment app for storing payment details, while Samsung Pass stores IDs and passwords for websites and apps. So rather than two different apps, both Pay and Pass are now a single app called Samsung Wallet. On the other hand, the new Google Wallet is more of a rebrand of Google Pay than a new app altogether. While Google Pay is Google’s payment service and app for storing payment details such as cards and coupons, it could also hold things such as boarding passes and transit passes. So by rebranding it from Google Pay (except in the U.S., India, and Singapore) to Google Wallet, it gives the message that the app is a digital equivalent of a physical wallet that would naturally hold all of the items mentioned above.
Google Wallet Is Available In More Countries
Now that it has been established how both Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet function, it’s time to highlight their differences. If it wasn’t evident from the name, Samsung Wallet is exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices only. This means non-Samsung devices can’t enjoy the features of the Samsung Wallet. In contrast, when Google Wallet arrives, it will be available for a wide range of Android phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones. Another key difference between Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet is that the former can also store IDs and passwords for apps and sites. This feature is not available on Google Wallet as Google already has a password manager built into Android and the Chrome browser app and is not being integrated into Google Wallet. In addition, Samsung Wallet can also store cryptocurrencies and virtual assets as it is combined with the Samsung Blockchain Wallet.
Both Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet will be able to store digital keys for cars, offices and hotels. However, support and availability will be different. Samsung says it will support digital car keys for select BMW, Genesis, Hyundai and Kia motors. Google’s Android Digital Key is only available for a few BMW models for now, with plans to support more later. The availability of this feature on both platforms will vary for devices and countries. The new Samsung Wallet will be available for Galaxy users in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. All users in these countries have to do is open their Samsung Pay or Samsung Pass app and update it to Samsung Wallet.
Other regions not mentioned will continue to use the individual Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass apps. Google Wallet will be available in 38 different countries. Those in these countries will have their Google Pay app automatically updated to Google Wallet once it is available. However, those in Singapore and the United States will get a separate Google Wallet app while keeping their Google Pay app. This is because the Google Pay app in the two countries is used for peer-to-peer payments. India will also not be getting the Google Wallet app. However, it will keep its own special Google Pay app which supports both payments and money transfers.
