New Samsung Wallet Launched: Here's What You Get
Samsung Wallet is a new app designed to store tickets, passes, COVID-19 vaccination certificates, driver's licenses, digital keys, and even act as a cryptocurrency wallet. Samsung Wallet also integrates the functionality of the Samsung Pass password manager. The app is now available in select markets including the United States.
Until now, Samsung Pay has been Samsung's main comprehensive payment solution available across many of the company's Android devices. It allows users to store digital copies of their credit or debit cards with a layer of encryption to avoid any digital sabotage. But at its Galaxy S22 series launch in February 2022, Samsung revealed the next iteration of its card-storage solution: Samsung Wallet.
At 2022's first Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, Samsung announced Wallet would be available in the following months. Although the app was initially expected to be launched in Samsung's home country of South Korea, it is now available in several markets, including the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., and Spain. Those already using Samsung Pay and Samsung Pass will be alerted to download the new Samsung Wallet app and migrate their existing data.
If you're feeling like you've heard of Interestingly, Samsung launched another Wallet app in 2013 with similar functionality. The app was later succeeded by Samsung Pay in 2015.
Features put Samsung ahead of Apple
Security is a key feature in Samsung Wallet, as the company claims it relies on the Knox Vault platform, which offers defense-grade security to isolate passwords and payment information from the rest of the operating system. The additional support for cryptocurrency keys makes Samsung Wallet a unique and consolidated financial solution for those testing their luck with digital money. It remains to be seen whether or not Samsung also offers users other functionality besides managing their cryptocurrency portfolios. For automatic password management and online authentication, Samsung Wallet will use biometric safeguards, like the Samsung Pass feature.
Meanwhile, Samsung Wallet will come in handy for storing essential documents, including driver's license, COVID-19 vaccination cards, ID cards, and other membership and gift cards. Users will also be able to keep tickets and airplane boarding passes in the Wallet app, but only certain Korean airlines will be supported at launch.
Support limited to certain Samsung Galaxy phones
The app will also allow users to store digital car keys for certain vehicles, including BMW cars launched after July 2020. The supported BMW models include the BMW iX, BMW X5, X6, and X7, and the BMW numeric models from BMW 1 through the 8 Series (with the exception of the 7 Series). The app also supports the Genesis GV60 and G90 alongside select Hyundai models, including the Palisade. Meanwhile, other auto manufacturers that support unlocking doors using phones may be added in the future.
Samsung also says users will be able to unlock smart doors using the Wallet app, but the supported brands and their exact models have not yet been confirmed.
While the Samsung Wallet was initially announced alongside the Galaxy S22, the app will support a wide range of smartphones running Android 9 or later. Notably, since Wallet relies on Knox, it might be limited to phones that come with an embedded Secure Element (eSE) or a physical Knox module on the chipset. Meanwhile, car unlocking features may be limited to devices that support UWB technology. The entire list of supported devices will be revealed by Samsung once this new Wallet app is made publicly available.