The idea of surfacing relevant information when you need it is probably one of the most useful implementations of AI.<\/p>\n
However, a recent Google Wallet update proved that your phone doesn’t need AI to surface relevant information at the right time.<\/p>\n
There’s a ton of potential here, and I’m just excited that Gemini isn’t a part of it.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/a-hand-holding-the-google-wallet-logo-with-an-archive-icon-beside-it.png\"\/){kind=icon}
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Related<\/p>\n
\t\t I keep coming back for this one feature<\/p>\n Google Wallet introduces a feature we should have had years ago<\/p>\n A small but useful feature<\/p>\n Google Wallet can now send you a notification<\/a> containing the relevant pass or ticket for the relevant destination. <\/p>\n For example, if you buy a train ticket, Google Wallet will prompt you when you arrive at the station. Tap this notification, and the ticket will instantly appear.<\/p>\n I don’t get excited about features that shave off a few seconds as a rule.<\/p>\n Currently, finding my train ticket involves tapping the Wallet shortcut on my lock screen, unlocking my phone, and then tapping the ticket.<\/p>\n If I didn’t have this shortcut, I would spend another couple of seconds finding the Wallet app.<\/p>\n This new update doesn’t make my life a lot easier, but it opens the door to intriguing possibilities.<\/p>\n However, before I explore that idea, I want to ask why this feature doesn’t exist already.<\/p>\n We’ve been able to add passes to Google Wallet for years, and location tracking is nothing new.<\/p>\n The technology is well tested, so I can only conclude that the reason it’s taken Google this long is that it’s not actually that significant.<\/p>\n But now that Google has decided to expand location-based features in Wallet, I want to see this everywhere. In short, let’s have a reliable Magic Cue feature.<\/p>\n Location tracking is simple, accurate, and filled with potential<\/p>\n Imagine what our phones could do with this existing technology<\/p>\n The Pixel 8 series of phones launched with an exciting feature. Even when powered off, you can locate them with Google’s Find My Device network.<\/p>\n The phone stores precomputed Bluetooth beacons, which can be picked up by other Android devices for several hours.<\/p>\n Whether offline or online, you can locate your Android device to within meters in ideal conditions. With this technology proven to be reliable, I want to see it elsewhere.<\/p>\n Pulling up your boarding pass when you arrive at the airport is helpful, but what about in more frantic situations?<\/p>\n Buses near me are well-equipped with Wi-Fi networks. Could my phone not use those to pull up my bus pass when it detects the network?<\/p>\n I store my loyalty cards in Wallet. Why doesn’t my phone pull up my Tesco Clubcard when I enter the store?<\/p>\n Location tracking is relevant across all my Google apps.<\/p>\n I store notes of events in Calendar, so why doesn’t it pull up the event description when I arrive?<\/p>\n Speaking of traveling, why can’t Tidal, Play Books, or Netflix prompt me to download media when I arrive at an airport?<\/p>\n Why can’t Maps prompt me to check a restaurant’s reviews when I stop next to one when I consider it for lunch?<\/p>\n The more I consider how many ways location tracking can be used, the more I feel like I’m losing my mind. The technology is here, the need is there, so where are the results?<\/p>\n In an age of unreliable AI prompts, I want technology I can rely on<\/p>\n We can do so much more with location-based features<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tThe irresistible Google Wallet feature I can’t give up
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765499592_795_google-wallet-nearby-notifications-set-up-1-95.jpeg\")
Credit:\u00a09to5Google![\"Google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765499592_597_google-wallet-nearby-notifications-set-up-2-95.jpeg\")
Credit:\u00a09to5Google<\/p>\n![\"Everything](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/google-wallet-everything-else.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Magic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pixel-10-pro-xl-magic-cue.JPG\"){kind=tracking}
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