I stopped carrying these everyday items after my Google Pixel took over

Smartphones have already replaced cameras, music players, GPS devices, video players, and countless other gadgets.

But over the past couple of years, my Google Pixel has quietly replaced several everyday items I never expected to stop carrying.

I didn’t notice the change at first, but one by one, those items disappeared from my pockets and backpack.

The result is a lighter load and one less thing to worry about when I leave the house.

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By  Parth Shah

My wallet

I no longer carry a wallet, and my Pixel is the reason why.

Initially, the Pixel helped make my wallet slimmer than it used to be by allowing me to pay for things with a quick tap.

It works as reliably as a physical card, saving me the hassle of digging through my wallet to find the right card.

Then, over time, it replaced other items in my wallet.

My ID proofs, including my driver’s license and address proof, now live in Google Wallet on my Pixel.

It also stores my loyalty cards, event and movie tickets, and other digital passes.

So, instead of digging through my wallet or searching my inbox for a QR code, everything I need is only a couple of taps away.

My Pixel has made checking into events or paying at a store much quicker, while also giving me one less thing to carry every day.

Boarding passes and tickets

Boarding passes and train tickets are another thing that I no longer carry.

My Pixel securely stores all my travel tickets and documents, ensuring I don’t have to worry about losing them.

There was a time when every flight or train journey required me to print boarding passes and tickets beforehand.

That would mean dusting off my old printer and hoping it would not throw a fit and print everything correctly. And finally, ensuring I didn’t forget to carry the printouts with me.

Now, my Pixel handles all of that.

Google Wallet automatically saves supported boarding passes and tickets, ready to be scanned at the airport or train station.

And it appears on my phone’s lock screen right when I need it.

As someone who travels frequently, having my Pixel replace all my boarding passes and travel documents has been such a relief.

Physical maps

I remember using physical maps when I went to Ocean Park in Hong Kong in the early 2010s.

Given the park’s size and the number of attractions, the physical map was a must. And that meant stopping constantly to check the map, figuring out the best route, and so on.

Today, physical maps have all but disappeared from my travels.

Whether I’m exploring a theme park, navigating the streets of a new city, or driving through an unfamiliar town, I know I can rely on my Pixel and Google Maps to guide me.

Even better, I know Google Maps will be there for me even if I don’t have an active internet connection.

I recently trekked through Montserrat, with Google Maps guiding me along the hiking trails and helping me find my way back to the monastery afterward.

Since I had downloaded the area for offline use before starting the hike, I didn’t have to worry about poor mobile coverage.

Voice recorder

As part of my work, I regularly attend meetings, product briefings, demos, and interviews.

Capturing everything accurately is important, but carrying a notebook, pen, or dedicated voice recorder everywhere I go was never practical.

More often than not, I would end up relying on my phone anyway.

My Pixel now ensures that I don’t have to worry about any of that.

The excellent Recorder app captures conversations with a single tap while generating a live transcript in the background.

So, instead of taking notes during meetings or listening to the entire voice recording later, I can find the relevant parts of the conversation in seconds by searching the transcript.

The AI-generated summaries are even more helpful, allowing others on my team to quickly get an idea of the conversation or interview without listening to the entire recording.

Physical notebooks

As a writer, ideas rarely arrive when I’m sitting at my desk working. They usually strike when I am running errands, walking, or in the middle of doing something else.

In other words, they almost always appear when I’m nowhere near a notebook. And carrying a notebook everywhere I go was never practical.

Now, my Pixel has become my digital notebook.

Whenever an idea strikes, I open Google Keep and jot it down. Or, if it’s an action item, I use Todoist to capture the task using my voice.

This way, the notes and to-dos immediately appear on my other devices, so they’re waiting for me when I sit down at my desk later in the day.

I still enjoy writing things down on paper occasionally, but I no longer feel the need to carry a notebook just in case inspiration strikes.

It’s the little things that make the biggest difference

None of the items mentioned above disappeared from my pockets or backpack overnight.

Instead, my Pixel replaced them one by one as I found myself reaching for my phone rather than carrying something extra.

This is perhaps one of my favorite things about using a Pixel.

Beyond the hardware and software features, it’s how it integrates into my daily life to improve the small things.

Those conveniences may not grab headlines, but they’ve had a bigger impact on my day-to-day life than many of the flashy features ever could.