Google refreshes Wallet’s website to conform to ‘Material Design’ guidelines

By Julian Chokkattu November 2, 2016

google wallet web material design smartphone app mobile phone featured

Google Wallet’s website has gotten the Material Design treatment, which means that it now follows Google’s own design and animation guidelines.

The website now matches the Wallet app on mobile devices with a minimal and sleek design. The service allows you to send money out in any amount in your Wallet account, look at your transaction history, and add your payment methods. The app has had Material Design for quite a while, so it’s refreshing to see the website updated.

Recommended Videos

This move also reaffirms Google’s commitment to keeping Wallet alive as a peer-to-peer payment service rather than retiring it in recognition of the growth and expansion of Android Pay. Android Pay is Google’s contactless payment framework, which allows Android users to use their phones to make payments at NFC terminals at various retailers around the world.

We've relaunched the #GoogleWallet web app, making it easier than ever to send money for free. Check it out! https://t.co/NP3hIAg5cP pic.twitter.com/w0MzMxbjaj

— Google Pay (@GooglePay) November 1, 2016

Wallet, on the other hand, is more of a competitor to the likes of Venmo and Square Cash. The website provides more or less the same functionality as the app, and it’s now simpler than before to send money on the web via the service.

Google has slowly been updating its websites to follow the Material Design guidelines it debuted in 2014 with Android Lollipop. While most of its apps have been redesigned to conform to the guidelines, several web services are still lagging behind, and specifically Google Calendar and Gmail. Google+, YouTube, and Inbox are a few examples of Google services that have a Material Design website.

Google Wallet is only available for U.S. users, and the updated website is live now if you would like to check it out.

Topics

Julian Chokkattu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…

Mobile

I wish I never bought my Google Pixel 7 Pro

The Google Pixel 7 Pro standing up.

As someone who writes about smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices for a day job, it likely comes as no surprise to you that I'm the guy who friends and family come to for advice on which smartphone to buy. In recent years, my advice has more-or-less been the same: "Buy a Google Pixel." They're reliable, as close to an iPhone on Android as you're going to get, and have absolutely phenomenal cameras. They were a slam dunk of a recommendation, and I've been recommending Google's smartphone range to my nearest and dearest for years now.

That's why it's been tough for me to admit this -- but after almost six months with my new Pixel smartphone, I think I'm finally ready to face up to the truth. I wish I'd never bought my Google Pixel 7 Pro, as it's destroying my faith in Google.
I fell in love with an older Pixel

Mobile

Your next Samsung phone might ditch Google Search for Bing

The screens on the Galaxy A54 and Galaxy S23 Ultra.

When you buy an Android phone, you expect Google Search to be installed out of the box as the default search engine. But that may not be the case when you buy your next Samsung phone. According to a report over the weekend, Samsung might abandon Google Search in favor of Bing as the default search engine for future Samsung Galaxy phones.

The possibility that Samsung is considering replacing Google Search with Bing on its smartphones sent Google into a "panic," according to the New York Times, Why? As the report explains, "An estimated $3 billion in annual revenue is at stake with the Samsung contract." If Samsung doesn't want to keep using Google for the default search engine on its phones, that's $3 billion per year Google will no longer get. And if Samsung decides it wants Bing instead of Google, who knows how many other companies will follow suit and do the same.
Why Samsung wants Bing over Google

Mobile

What is Google Assistant? Here’s the guide you need to get started

Using Google Assistant on the Google Pixel Watch.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is huge news right now, thanks to chatbots like ChatGPT -- but did you know you can already access an AI on your Android phone? Google Assistant is Google's AI-powered voice assistant, and it's available on Android, iOS, and a large number of smart devices (like Google's Nest speakers). While not as capable as ChatGPT (yet), Google Assistant can handle an impressive number of tasks — including pausing and resuming songs and videos, making tasks and reminders, and in some cases, even taking and screening phone calls for you.

That may seem like a lot, but Google Assistant is relatively simple to use. If you've never used a voice assistant before, we've got this guide to help you get to grips with it and take your first steps.
What is Google Assistant?