With the LG Nexus 4 all set to introduce the world to Android 4.2, it is no surprise that it runs newer versions of some Google apps that aren’t available to the general public yet. However, the system dump of the Nexus 4 has given us access to many of those, including the new Play Music and Gmail apps. And now, XDA forum member jyeley5 has made the new Google Wallet app from Android 4.2 available as well by taking it out of the Nexus 4 system dump.

The new Google Wallet doesn’t seem to have any noticeable changes, though one Verizon Galaxy Nexus who tried it reports that he was able to apply for a Google prepaid card refund, something which he couldn’t do with the currently available app. There are probably other under the hood changes as well, so those using Google Wallet should definitely give this a try.

Bear in mind that this might only work on Android 4.1/4.0 ROMs. Let’s take a look at how the Android 4.2 Google Wallet app can be installed.

How to Install Android 4.2 Google Wallet

  1. Download Google Wallet.
    Download Link 
  2. Extract the .zip file downloaded in step 1 to obtain a file named Wallet.APK (ignore the _MACOSX folder inside the zip), which is the APK file of Google Wallet that we need to install.
  3. Copy the .apk file downloaded in step 2 to your device.
  4. Enable “Unknown sources” under the Settings » Security menu on the device (or Settings » Applications if using Android 2.3), so that you can install apps from the SD card.
  5. Go into Settings » Apps, swipe left to the All tab, look for “Google Wallet” in the list, click on it, then click on the “Clear data” button to reset the data on the currently installed Google Wallet.
  6. You’ll need a file manager to browse through SD Card. You can install OI file manager or ES File Explorer or any other file manager app from the Play Store if needed.
  7. Open file manager and navigate to where you transferred the APK file in Step 3. Tap on the file to begin installation procedure and it will be installed in less than a minute.
  8. Then, run the new Google Wallet app from your apps menu.

The new Android 4.2 Google Wallet app is now installed on your device. Do let us know if you notice any changes or new features in it.