Google Wallet is steadily becoming a true Apple Wallet competitor for Android

What you need to know

• Google and the state of California announced last week that 1.5 million state residents can now add their mobile driver's license to the Google Wallet.
• The company previously said that it was working on bringing more states onboard its digital ID program. 
• Google Wallet has been upgraded in a few key ways this year; it can now create a digital pass out of basically anything, from tickets to store loyalty and insurance cards.

Google spent much of this year talking up its digital ID program, describing plans to add more states and make the entire experience more ubiquitous. Well, it added a pretty big state last week: California, which is home to nearly 40 million people. Google and the state of California jointly announced a pilot program that would initially allow 1.5 million people to add their mobile ID to the Google Wallet.

Part of the reason it's so difficult to grow Android or iOS mobile ID adoption is that many U.S. states are trying to create their own offerings from scratch rather than work with Apple or Google. Recently, New York launched its Mobile ID (MiD New York) program independently, requiring a standalone app. In fact, California had its own app — the California DMV Wallet app — before opening up the Google Wallet pilot program. The California DMV Wallet app will still be used as another option. 

"It's never been easier to keep a digital driver's license and identification card in California," said Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, in a statement. "The state continues to work to offer convenience for those opting into the mobile driver’s license program, now with the option of using Google Wallet."

To be clear, mobile IDs still have a long way to go before they are truly useful. Even now, Californians who store their driver's license in the Google Wallet are required by law to keep their physical card with them. The mobile version of their ID will only come in handy when passing through TSA checkpoints at select airports and at some restaurants. 

However, adding California is still big for Google Wallet, and it'll become even more important if the pilot program is opened to more state residents. For starters, Google now supports the same number of state IDs as Apple. Google Wallet has Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, and Maryland, while Apple Wallet has Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio. Getting a state the size of California and securing a state that already has its own mobile wallet app are both huge victories for Google. 

While Apple announced that it would be participating in a similar pilot program with California, the mobile IDs launched in Google Wallet first, and the timetable for Apple Wallet support is unclear.

Previously, a key drawback to using Google Wallet over Apple Wallet was that fewer IDs, cards, passes, and tickets supported it. Additionally, there weren't as many places that accepted Google Pay. While I still have some reliability and user-experience concerns about Google Wallet, many of these supposed "cons" to using Google Wallet are simply outdated. Google has come a long way just this year alone, and the addition of mobile California IDs — as big as it is — isn't even the best thing to come to Google Wallet of late. 

Google Wallet does one thing better than Apple Wallet

Recently, Google added a feature to the Wallet app that lets you create a pass from basically anything. You can scan a card in your real wallet — think an insurance card or a store loyalty card — and Google will use its text recognition and AI smarts to turn it into a Google Wallet pass. If the whole thing works as expected, the pass will be created and organized without any manual user action. If there are passes that need to be kept secure, Google Wallet can automatically create a Private Pass for those cards.

This feature alone makes the Google Wallet more versatile than the Apple Wallet. I've been a frequent user of both digital wallet apps for years, and I loved how almost all passes that supported mobile versions worked with Apple Wallet. Some supported Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, but few supported Google Wallet exclusively.  

Now, with this feature, you don't even need a card, ticket, or pass to support a digital variant for it to work with Google Wallet. Anything you can find in your wallet should work in a digital form, and this is incredibly convenient and useful. Throw in the fact that Google Wallet has added support for hundreds of banks in 2024, and it's clear progress is being made. Though I'm still skeptical of the utility of mobile IDs, California is a big get for Google Wallet. 

Looking at these improvements holistically, Google Wallet is now ready to give Apple Wallet a challenge. I doubt that many people are switching between iOS and Android based on wallet apps, but that doesn't really matter. iOS clearly had a check in the win column for many years thanks to the Apple Wallet, but that isn't as clear anymore. If Google builds on 2024's momentum, Google Wallet should be a force moving forward.