The Pixel Watch now lets you tap to pay without opening the Wallet app

Google has a big update in store for the Pixel Watch, which will now allow you to make a range of payments by simply tapping your watch to a retail terminal without opening the Wallet app. The feature, called “express pay,” is coming to the Pixel Watch 2 and later.

It’s similar to “express mode” on the Apple Watch, a feature that lets you use compatible cards without waking or unlocking your device. However, Google notes that you’ll need to opt in to use the new express pay feature, and that the watch itself will need to be unlocked to make a payment.

Before this update, Pixel Watch users had to double-tap the device’s crown to open the Wallet app and make a payment. Google already allows Watch users to tap to pay for transportation services without opening the Wallet app.

There are a couple of other features coming to the Pixel Watch 2 and later that make it a more useful companion to the Pixel phone, too. In addition to automatically locking your phone when you’re out of range, Google is adding a feature that will alert you when you leave your phone behind. These two features work with a Pixel 8 and up.

Additionally, Google is trying to make its identity checks faster when your watch and phone are connected, allowing you to perform sensitive actions — like turning off Find My Device — by adding a PIN, which Google says will speed up the process. This feature is only available with the Pixel Watch 3, Pixel Watch 4, and the Pixel 8 Pro and newer (excluding the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8A).

Google’s March update also brings the Find Hub to the original Pixel Watch and other Wear OS watches, adds new one-handed gestures to the Pixel Watch 3, and expands the Satellite SOS feature on the Pixel Watch 4 to more locations, including Europe, Canada, Hawaii, and Alaska.