Google Wallet overlay expands on Pixel

Pixel devices gain a new card carousel overlay when launching Google Wallet with a double press of the power button.

Google Wallet overlay arrives on Pixel double tap gesture

Google Wallet gains a new visual overlay on Pixel devices when users double press the power button. On Android 16 running on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, testers have seen an overlay that appears above the current screen with a blurred background, an NFC reading cue, a horizontal card carousel, and an Open Wallet shortcut at the bottom. The feature is part of Android 16’s gesture customization and is currently rolling out with Wallet version 25.31 and Play services in beta. Availability appears limited and not yet visible on all devices.

The change seems designed to speed up access to payment options without switching away from what a user is doing. It offers a quick path to pay and then returns users to their previous task after the transaction. As with many betas, rollout timing and device support will vary, and some Pixel models may see the feature later than others.

This overlay signals Google’s ongoing effort to streamline payments as a core system feature rather than a separate app action. By surfacing Wallet options in a gesture that many users already rely on, Google nudges behavior toward faster card access while folding Wallet more tightly into everyday device use. The design choice — a blurred background with a focused card carousel — prioritizes speed, but it risks confusing users who expect the power button to launch the camera or trigger a hardware feature.

For a broader audience, the key questions are about safety, discoverability, and control. Will users opt in to this gesture, and will it be easy to cancel if they mis-tap? How will this interact with accessibility settings and multi-tasking on foldable devices? If the feature remains limited to beta and a subset of Pixel devices, its impact may be incremental rather than transformative but still telling of Google’s direction in wallet and payments integration.

Highlights

The test will reveal whether speed wins over simplicity for most users.