Google’s developer conference, I/O 2024, focused dedicatedly on the furtherance of artificial intelligence and brought dozens of other announcements, including Wear OS 5 and Android 15 Beta 2. Google also discussed the future of passwordless login with passkeys, pointing out the possible incorporation into Android as well as Wear OS.
From Google I/O 2024, it unfolds forthcoming enhancements to passkeys, focusing on a user-friendly as well as instant login experience. From the overall discussion, a strong connection between these advancements and the upcoming release of Android 15 and the new Wear OS update appears.
Regarding this, the Google Workspace team discussed streamlining the passkey access mechanism, which will go from a sequence of multiple phases, such as account confirmation and authentication through fingerprint, face recognition, or PIN, to a single touch.
The user experience sees all details on a single, larger screen; in the presence of multiple accounts, there will be a selector to switch from one to the other. The renewed passkey functionality is rolling out with the new versions of Credential Manager on Android 15.
Google is looking forward to a strong combination of passkeys and reference applications for enhancing a seamless user experience. Android 15, including the improvement of Gboard integration, but here is the catch: it will be available only on devices upgraded to Android 15. While authenticating and clicking on a relevant text entry field, Gboard will automatically suggest login credentials instantly from the Credential Manager, and you apply them to passkeys and also to log in with Google and passwords. For detailed information, you can also check out the dedicated official video here.
Being able to hope for a simplified authentication method is all the more beneficial where the display of the device used is particularly small, and now, to keep this point in mind, Google has decided to make Credential Manager available on smartwatches starting with Wear OS 5, opening up quick authentication through Passkey.
