Android Pay

Google’s new Hands Free app will let you pay in stores without even reaching for your phone

If you thought paying with Apple Pay is ridiculously easy and frictionless, think again. No, I'm not referring to Android Pay, Google's near exact replica of Apple Pay that was unveiled at Google I/O yesterday.

Quietly unveiled yesterday, Hands Free is a new Google mobile app currently unavailable to the general public that promises to let you make in-store purchases without ever reaching for that phone in your pocket.

Details are scarce at the moment but it seems that Hands Free requires you to just tell the cashier you’d like to pay with Google. It's basically Android Pay without taking your phone.

Android M: Six headlining features from Google’s upcoming mobile OS update

Google's annual I/O conference is currently going on in San Francisco, and as expected, Android M, its latest update to Android, was officially unveiled. Although lots of new features will be packed in with Android M, six of those features were brought to the forefront during the beginning of the I/O keynote.

Google states that Android M is rethinking fundamental aspects of how the platform has worked for years, and focuses on polish and quality and improving the core user experience. From what we've seen thus far, we'd have to agree.

The following six areas—App Permissions, Web Experience, App Links, Android Pay, Fingerprint Support, and Power & Charging—were specially highlighted as new features for Android M. What do these new features mean for Android and the future of mobile?