One-tap passkeys are coming to Android 15

AI was the main focus of the Google I/O keynote this year, but there are still a bunch of new feature updates hidden away in the various developer sessions. Case in point, 9to5Google identified that Android 15 and Wear OS 5 will receive some convenient password updates.

In your “Access Keys and Identity Best Practices” Development Session, Google announced that Android 15 will have a single-tap login process. Instead of having two separate screens – one for selecting an account and another for a biometric request – Google will merge them into a single screen.

The bottom line is that you will be able to use just your face, finger, or any other screen unlock method to log into an account. For developers, this will automatically support new versions of Credential Manager on Android 15 or higher. Another update is that AutoFill will also display Credential Manager results in Gboard. This includes passwords, passkeys, and Sign in with Google.

Another cool update is that it will be easier to log back into your apps if you buy a new device, thanks to a new “Restore” passkey feature for phones and tablets. An application will be able to save a restore key in Credential Manager. This key is then stored locally on the device, and if cloud backups are enabled, it can be automatically transferred to the new device. In short, users will not need to log into each application one by one.

Passkeys will also come to Wear OS 5 in a quarterly platform release. This will allow you to use passkeys, passwords or sign in to Google right from your wrist. Google says this feature will also work with third-party password managers, citing Dashlane as an example. The Apple Watch already has some of these authentication features, so it’s good to see Google continue to level the playing field for Android smartwatch users.