Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is working on a new shortcut that will allow you to launch the default Wallet app by double-tapping the power button.
- Code for this feature can be found in the latest Android Beta and Developer Preview builds.
- Currently, a double press of the power button launches the default camera app.
A handy feature on many of the best Android phones is a double press of the power button to quickly launch the camera, perfect for capturing fleeting moments. Some manufacturers allow you to customize this gesture, but this is currently not possible on Google Pixel phones. However, this might change in the future as Google is developing an option to launch the default wallet app instead of the camera with a double tap.
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Hidden in the second developer preview of Android 16 is a new configuration named config_walletDoubleTapPowerGestureEnabled. The name implies that this configuration will determine whether a double press of the power button will launch the default wallet app, ie. Google Wallet on Pixel phones. However, Android 15 made the default wallet app user-configurable, so this gesture should simply launch the app the user has set under Settings > Apps > Default apps > Wallet app.
Since Android 16 DP2 doesn’t contain any additional code for this feature, I’m not sure how Google plans to implement it. The company could create a whole new option within the framework Settings > System > Gestures or update the existing “quick camera open” screen, but we’ll have to dig into future versions of Android to find out.
It’s also unclear whether this setup is intended for phones or another form factor, such as smartwatches. However, given that many Wear OS smartwatches already use a double press of the power button to launch the wallet app by default, this makes the purpose of this new setup a bit murky if it is indeed intended for portable devices.
If Google offered the ability to launch Google Wallet by pressing the power button twice, would you use it? Let us know in the comments!
