If you're a Pixel phone user who uses Google Wallet, paying for things with your phone is about to become much easier. 

Opening Google Wallet isn't exactly difficult at the moment. You can open the app itself, tap the Wallet icon in Quick Settings, or press and hold the lock screen shortcut. A new option, though, lets you open Wallet without looking at your phone. 

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The Android 16 Beta 2, rolling out today, takes a feature from other Android phones and allows you to open Google Wallet by double-tapping your Pixel phone's power button -- exactly how the feature works on Samsung devices (but Samsung lets you map the double tap to any app). It works no matter what app you're on and even works from the phone's lock screen. (You will need to unlock your phone to access the app for security.)

Google Wallet is a payment app that you can use to pay anywhere that accepts "tap to pay," but it's also much more. Google Wallet can store loyalty cards, gift cards, hotel keys, transit passes, movie tickets, concert or sporting event tickets, gym passes, flight boarding passes, insurance cards, company IDs, and even your official state ID. Google recently added support to store your US passport, but only for identification at certain TSA precheck locations. It's an incredibly useful app once you learn what it can do.

If you have the Android 16 Beta 2, you can change what double-tapping the power button does by going to Settings > System > Gesture. 

By default, double-tapping the power button on a Pixel phone opens the camera. I do this almost every day to capture a quick snapshot, and there have been a few times when those seconds saved mattered. I also use Wallet very frequently, so this is an awfully tempting choice. The convenience of opening Wallet without having to actually look at my phone and swipe through might make me use Wallet even more. 

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