It makes sense that Galaxy will be the first Android device to add Suica support to all models from 2027 and later. Anybody from anywhere with one of those devices can add Suica directly in Samsung Wallet starting in the first half of 2027. Galaxy was the launch device for Mobile Octopus service in December 2017, so we all knew that Samsung has been pre-installing Mobile FeliCa on Galaxy for a long time but only activating it for models sold in Hong Kong and Japan. What took them so long to turn it on for everybody?
It comes down to the complicated Osaifu Keitai app environment that originated on the legacy Symbian platform in 2003 and later migrated to Android. A collection of parts, it was never streamlined or built into the base OS. Apple was very smart with Apple Pay for Japan, they streamlined the Mobile FeliCa + Osaifu Keitai app jungle and built it into Apple Pay so everything worked out of the box without extra apps. It’s the same playbook that Samsung and JR East announced today: starting from 2027 Mobile Suica and Welcome Suica Mobile will work out of the box in Samsung Wallet. On a deeper level there is cooperation and integration between Samsung and FeliCa Networks. As I posted on X: All NFC smartphone certification requires NFC A-B-F support, but it seems Samsung and FeliCa Networks worked out Mobile FeliCa preloading/activation/licensing details without extra Osaifu Keitai app installation, i.e. support built in Samsung Wallet.
Samsung can do this because they own the whole platform, just like Apple. Google can’t go and pull a Samsung move on Google Pixel devices because that would alienate their Android licensee base and likely bring unwanted attention from EU ‘gatekeeper’ regulatory watchdogs. That’s the real lesson we learned today. Google has had plenty of opportunity with Pixel but for the Japan market all they did was candy wrap the piecemeal Osaifu Keitai platform with Google Wallet colors instead of truly integrating it.
Unfortunately the press release information is confusing. Samsung and JR East pitch the service as being for ‘inbound’ users but it actually contains 2 differently targeted services: (1) On the international side we have support for adding the 180 day limited validity inbound Welcome Suica Mobile on Galaxy 2027 devices and later, (2) card reloading/recharge with Samsung Pay for both Welcome Suica (international SKU) and Mobile Suica (Japan SKU) though it’s not clear what JP models will support it. Japanese users already have Osaifu Keitai apps and Google Wallet for recharge so direct Samsung Pay recharge is nice…but it’s certainly not newsworthy one year in advance of the service rollout.
So many unanswered questions. Why the rush announcement when the Galaxy models that will support Suica are still in development? Do JR East and Samsung really plan to limit international devices to Welcome Suica Mobile while iPhone users enjoy the full Mobile Suica experience? It will be an embarrassing, ‘oh so Android’ launch if there is no Samsung Pay support for something so basic as adding regular plastic Suica cards; there are lots of South Koreans, Taiwanese and Australians who would love to migrate their plastic Suica cards to Samsung Pay. Are they saying that frequent repeat-visit Galaxy users only have the limited 180 day validity Welcome Suica Mobile card with no refund option? And what about Samsung Galaxy Watch support?
With few details and one year to go until the service launch we can be sure there is more to come. But those are discussions for another day, all you need to know is that sometime in the first half of 2027 inbound visitors to Japan with new Galaxy devices can add Suica with the same ease that iPhone users have enjoyed since 2017, which is the whole point of global NFC.
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