https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/passwordless-google-accounts-are-here-you-can-now-switch-to-passkey-only/

Google is taking a big step toward our supposedly passwordless future by enabling passkey-only Google accounts. In the blog post, titled "The beginning of the end of the password," Google says "we’ve begun rolling out support for passkeys across Google Accounts on all major platforms. They’ll be an additional option that people can use to sign in, alongside passwords, 2-Step Verification (2SV), etc." Previously, you've been able to use a passkey with a Google account as part of two-factor authentication, but that was always in addition to a password. Now it's possible to use a Google account with a passkey instead of a password.

A passkey, if you haven't heard of the new authentication method, is a new way to log into apps and websites that can someday replace a password. Password entry began as a simple text box for humans, and those text boxes slowly had automation and complication bolted onto them as the desire for higher security arrived. While you used to type a remembered word into a password field, today, the right way to use a password is to have a password manager paste a random string of characters into the password box. Since few of us physically type in our passwords, passkeys remove the password box.