A new version of Android Pay seems to be en route to devices at the moment, version 1.5. However, on the face of it, there does not seem to be too much included at the end user level. Although, buried in the app are some nice indications of one particular feature which will likely be on its way to Android Pay in the future. Information on where your device’s NFC antenna is located.
NFC is of course, the underlying tech which fuels much of the mobile payment solutions like Android Pay. If you currently use Samsung Pay then you make use of the best of both worlds, as in addition to NFC support Samsung Pay also comes loaded with MST support – which allows a smartphone to emulate a physical card being swiped. But that is Samsung Pay. The rest of the ‘Pays’ do have to rely on making use of NFC and getting your device close enough to the payment terminal to receive the signal. Which is where the current update comes in. Although the feature does not seem to be live yet, it seems Google is making the app more instructive in advising device owners as to where the NFC antenna on their device is physically located. This might sound like a fairly rudimentary feature to some avid Android users, but for those who simply pick up a smartphone and use it without much further interest, it will be beneficial for them to know where such antennas are located. Needless to say, this particular feature seems as those it is destined for the “How it works” section of the drop down menu.
Besides, this there is not a lot else to note about the latest update. The Google Play Store listing for Android Pay does detail that it was updated yesterday and simply notes that the user end facing changes include “now available in 40+ languages”. So providing this is the same update, then it seems likely to be including a greater degree of language support as well. Either Way, if you do have the app installed on your device, then you should see the update heading your way in due course. Alternatively, you can pull the APK from the link below and update manually, if you prefer.
Download Android Pay v1.5 APK