Google Wallet stacked design spotted as rumors of a return to iOS heat up

Google Wallet seems to be getting a whole new look and that look is: stacked.

Some Google Wallet holders are reporting that their cards now display the vertical stacked look that’s familiar to anyone with Apple Wallet or Samsung Wallet. It also mirrors the app icon for Google Wallet.

One user posted the new look on X, and others outside the United States have echoed that they have also gotten the redesign.

User opinion is stacked against the carousel

While the person who posted on X said that it looks “like it ripped off Samsung Wallet” and called it “unusable,” the look is being hailed by others.

The stack makes it much easier to scroll through payment cards, passes, IDs, and more and to select one for use with just one hand.

It’s a design that users have wanted for a while. Many are fed up with the carousel design that makes locating a card difficult.

When Google Wallet got a big redesign back in April, it failed to impress many because it lacked a vertical stack.

As one Redditor put it at the time: “The carousel design is horrendous. I wish they would do like apple wallet. Much easier to use. If I'm in a specific store that I have a specific card for, I have to scroll until I find it. With Apple wallet all I had to do was select it from the list. I hardly use Google wallet because of it's design and just carry around all my cards.”

Changes come just as app returns to Apple devices

If the change does come to pass, one of the reasons could be that it looks like Google Wallet is making a return to iOS.

Android Authority reported that it’s seen evidence in an APK teardown. It said that it found five strings across apps like Quick Share Extension and Google Play Services that mention “Google Wallet” and “iOS.”

The availability of Google Wallet on iOS devices would mark a big return. Google Wallet was available on iOS devices in 2013. Then in 2018, Google merged Android Pay and Google Wallet into Google Pay, which was also available on iOS. Google revived Google Wallet in 2022, but not on iOS, and in 2024, it discontinued Google Pay in 2024, meaning the end for Apple devices.

Whether Google will offer a competing product that bears familiar functionality on iOS remains to be seen, but the signs are certainly there.