Google Wallet lets you disable animations, rolling out ‘Photo’ QR & barcode passes

Abner Li | Oct 16 2023 - 4:45 am PT

For those who don’t like the whimsical Pay animation that appears after using Google Wallet, a new setting can disable it.

“Success animations” is a new on/off toggle at the bottom of Google Wallet settings: “See fun animations after you complete a payment or use a pass.” Seasonal in nature, they appear above your card, but can now be disabled so that just the checkmark and “G Pay” logo appears.

First previewed in June and announced again last month, Google Wallet’s new ability to add a “Photo” pass by snapping the barcode or QR code is starting to appear for some users. Once available on your device, the “Add to Wallet” FAB will show a sixth option:

Payment card
Transit pass
Loyalty
Gift card
ID Card
Photo: Create a pass using a photo with a barcode or QR code

Our Max Weinbach encountered this on a Pixel 8 Pro, but it’s otherwise still not yet widely rolled out.

Meanwhile, the “Google Wallet” app that appears in the Play Store switched to a versioning system that takes after Google Play services last month. It’s now 23.38.x instead of 2.203.x. This application provides a homescreen icon, but the underlying payment and card list functionality works without it and can be accessed from the “Wallet” Quick Settings Tile.

In other miscellaneous updates, the redesign that makes the Wallet UI more compact looks to only be widely rolled out on the Pixel 8, 8 Pro, and Fold, with the latter device recently adding support for the ID Card option.