T-Mobile and Verizon are both sending out updates to Samsung’s latest smartphones – the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus – which bring Android Pay to the devices. A bit of a surprise that it wasn’t on the device before (it wasn’t pre-loaded, but it did work on the Galaxy S8). But now, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus users will be able to use Android Pay, if for some reason they don’t want to use Samsung Pay which is more widely accepted.
With Android Pay, users are able to tap-to-pay using their smartphones. Android Pay supports a number of banks and card issuers already, with Google continuing to work to bring more support to more banks (mostly the small ones that aren’t supported at this point). If you own a smartwatch that is not a Samsung smartwatch, you’ll also be able to use your smartwatch to pay for things. So if you picked up the Verizon Wear 24 smartwatch, or perhaps the new LG Watch Style, you can tap your wrist at the terminal to pay, which is pretty nifty, but many people have yet to use this Android Wear 2.0 feature.
The update does also bring some other changes to both devices, like Bixby enhancements. There are also some bug fixes coming with this update, so the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus should ideally run a bit smoother than it currently does. The updates are rolling out right now from both T-Mobile and Verizon. If you own a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus on T-Mobile or Verizon, you can head to the settings, tap on About Phone and then Check for Updates, and find the update waiting for you. It doesn’t appear to be a large update, but it’s still a good idea to be on WiFi before attempting to download it. Also don’t forget that you will need at least 50% battery before you attempt to begin the update. This way if something happens and the update takes longer, you won’t need to worry about your device shutting off and perhaps bricking the device while it’s being updated. Definitely important, as you don’t want your brand new Galaxy S8 to be bricked.