Imagine paying a cashier by phone, without it leaving your pocket. Well, the concept isn’t that new. We’ve seen the technology in tools like Android and Apple Pay, but now Google is taking their own shot at it.
GOOGLE “HANDS FREE” KEEPS YOUR HANDS-FREE
The appropriately named “Hands Free” is a way to connect your device to a point of sales system. Using sensors on your phone, the point of sale system will pick up the presence of your phone. When you want to pay for something, Hands Free will kick in and you’ll pay for that beer without spilling a drop. Google will be launching the service as a pilot in San Francisco before unleashing its convenience to the world.
INTROVERTS REJOICE WITH AUTOMATION
The future truly is a lovely time for introverts. With the increasing amount of automation, human interaction in stores is at an all time low. Google’s Hands Free h to further help the introvert in you. The whole point of Hands Free is to minimize friction in the payment process. No more awkwardly fumbling around for your wallet while you make stupid small talk with the cashier. Simply walk up to the checkout counter and your phone will be detected. The words “I’d like to pay with Google” will soon be commonplace. After that, just murmur your initials for verification and be on your way. For security purposes, the cashier will be able to detect what the person looks like and see if it matches their profile.
HANDS-FREE TO SUCCEED IN APPLE’S PLACE
It’s not often that an Apple product fails in the U.S, but that just so happens to be the case with Apple Pay. When it was released, The U.S just wasn’t ready for that kind of technology. The infrastructure wasn’t in place. Apple was probably trying to get ahead of the competition but one could say they jumped the gun. Fortunately for them, other countries like China have been set up with mobile payment services for quite sometimes. Now Apple Pay is seeing success in the east, but left a gap in the teh west. It’s Google’s turn to try out their tech on America. With the increase of automation in retail, it seems that the U.S is just about ready for Hands Free. If this product will work right out of the gates, it will make the transition that much easier. If this catches on, it will be just another thing people will need their phones for and this bodes well for Google, Apple and all smartphone companies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuIsOpD-Aag
