Apple says Arizona and Georgia will be first to support adding IDs to Wallet in iOS 15, with six states, including Utah, Maryland, and Iowa, expected to follow

Apple's plan to digitize your wallet is slowly taking shape. What started with boarding passes and venue tickets later became credit cards … Source: Apple .

TechCrunch 2021-09-02 Zack Whittaker

Context & Ripple Effects

Apple had already said select-state IDs would arrive in iOS 15 and that it was working with TSA on flight boarding. Naming Arizona and Georgia first turns that broad plan into a state-by-state rollout, with Utah, Maryland and Iowa among the next expected participants.

Later coverage shows Arizona became the first live Wallet-ID state through Arizona’s first Wallet ID launch, while agreements reported with states placed issuance costs on the states. That makes the initial state list consequential: adoption depends on government participation, not only iOS availability.

First-order effects

Arizona and Georgia become Apple’s first government partners for Wallet IDs, while the following states gain a defined path to add state-issued credentials to iOS 15.
Apple expands Wallet from payments and tickets into identity credentials, contingent on each participating state issuing and supporting the digital ID.

Second-order effects

States evaluating the program must weigh the cost of issuing IDs against access to Apple’s Wallet distribution, an arrangement later detailed in state agreements that assigned issuance costs to states.
Wallet competitors gain an incentive to secure state integrations: Google later began with Maryland and outlined plans for Arizona, Colorado and Georgia in its own state-ID rollout.

Third-order effects

If more states participate, mobile-wallet competition shifts beyond payment acceptance toward control of government-backed credentials and the services that can request them.
The rollout model leaves states as the gatekeepers of scale, so digital identity is likely to expand unevenly across jurisdictions rather than through a single nationwide software launch.

The trend: Mobile wallets are becoming permission layers for government-issued identity, with state-by-state partnerships determining which platforms reach users first.

Discussion

@katienotopoulos Katie Notopoulos on x
A few states are launching Apple's version of a digital license that lives in your iPhone Wallet. For now, it's only for use at the airport, but potentially retail or law enforcement in the near future. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@govnedlamont Governor Ned Lamont on x
Some tech news: We're working with @Apple to be among the 1st states to make @CTDMV licenses electronically available on iPhones & Apple Watches using the Wallet app. @TSA is on board to accept them at airports. We're in the early planning phases and will have more info soon.
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
I got a speeding ticket the other day. (70 in a 55, whoops!) There is no way I would ever hand my phone over to a cop and let them walk back to their car with it, and no way I trust police anywhere to not try and do that regardless of how the tech works. https://apple.com/...
@zabrillium @zabrillium on x
@gruber ... What Nilay is suggesting is that there is a massive NFC security gap that any cop in America can exploit, but that no one else outside cops knows about. Come on now.
@haroldsmith3rd @haroldsmith3rd on x
Hi please unlock your phone with Face ID so police can see your ID but not look at all your private data. https://twitter.com/...
@edzitron Ed Zitron on x
Buying a burner phone that will house two things 1. My drivers license 2. So much hentai that the TSA will have to pay someone a year's worth of overtime to scan through it https://twitter.com/...
@waltmossberg Walt Mossberg on x
Your driver's license is coming to your phone. https://www.theverge.com/...
@s8mb Sam Bowman on x
Finally! This is so great - something I would happily pay hundreds of pounds a year for. Bring it to the UK! https://techcrunch.com/...
@tati_wm Tatiana Walk-Morris on x
Did... did they consult any Black people? https://twitter.com/...
@darchmare Jeff on x
@LaFemmeSerena Apple does provide a quick way in which to “fully” lock a phone so that biometric access alone can't unlock it, but you wouldn't be doing that if this ID wallet thing is being used. They need to make it simpler to enable while also allowing the use of ID.
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
@radiocolin I am sure the cops will read the technical specifications carefully and not even try to take phones into their possession
@matthew_d_green Matthew Green on x
Can you access a state ID on an iPhone without unlocking it? https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
What I am suggesting is that there is a massive Fourth Amendment gap that every cop in America is trained to exploit today https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon @blackamazon on x
Apple definitely doesn't listen to Black people https://twitter.com/...
@tailosivetech @tailosivetech on x
Come on California... Apple is literally in your state you can get with the program https://twitter.com/...
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
@reckless Any response to the idea of a police officer asking you for your phone to take back to their car for ID processing when pulling you over?
@darchmare Jeff on x
The only way I'd trust something like this is if it were coupled with a quick auto-lock feature wherein the device locks and ceases to work with Face ID/Touch ID, and only shows the license/ID while locked. Even then, I'd want to maintain physical control of my phone. https://twi…
@tha_rami Rami Ismail on x
The chance that I will hand my phone over to TSA or any US officer without being forced to is approximately 0%. https://www.apple.com/...
@joshgeballe Josh Geballe on x
Excited to partner with @apple to get us one big step closer to no longer needing to carry a wallet. State government in the land of steady habits is becoming a place where new technology is used to provide residents services & convenience they expect. https://www.apple.com/... h…
@topjohnwu John Wu on x
Of course, California is not on the list... https://www.apple.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
@reckless Regardless we're carrying physical licenses for a long time to come. I did this piece 2 years ago. This Apple effort doesn't really push this along much. https://www.youtube.com/...
@chris_notcapn Chris Evans on x
I have literally had to turn all the way around and go back home because I've forgotten my wallet/ID. This is a much welcome feature. https://www.theverge.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
@markgurman I think Apple believes the technical solution is strong enough to overcome the police search culture problem
@film_girl Christina Warren on x
I understand why this feature feels convenient. I will never hand my phone willingly to a cop or TSA agent. Ever. https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
@JoannaStern I guess Apple trusts the cops more than I do
@panzer @panzer on x
Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever hand your phone to a cop locked or unlocked thank you for coming to my ted talk https://techcrunch.com/...
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
@reckless I asked Apple about this. You wouldn't hand your phone over. There is no visual representation of the license on the phone. Meant only for contactless transfer. So one day, I guess, that upstate cop will have a receiver and you'd tap your phone to it.
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Furiously googling the Apple Support article about how this tech does not require the police to take your phone away while a cop is like, the policy requires you to give me your phone
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Another Apple partnership with the cops, another series of after-the-fact background briefings to explain it's not as bad as it seems
@asymco Horace Dediu on x
In today's news, Apple reportedly plans blood pressure measurements, fertility planning in Apple Watch, satellite communications in the iPhone and has gotten several US states to agree to allow driver licensing and state IDs in Apple's Wallet. Will Tim Cook ever innovate?
@kytc Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on x
.@KYTC is at the forefront of licensing innovation through a collaboration with Apple Wallet to offer mobile driver's licenses in the future! Just another way KYTC is taking licensing to the next level. Learn more here: https://www.apple.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
Same. I'm fine with flashing my phone's screen to show ID to a TSA agent, which is all you can do for now with the iOS ID thing. But I would never hand my phone over. https://twitter.com/...
@govlarryhogan Governor Larry Hogan on x
Working with @Apple, Maryland is proud to be a leader once again in safe innovation with the implementation of mobile driver's licenses. https://www.apple.com/...
@zackwhittaker Zack Whittaker on x
Apple's plan to digitize your driver's license and state ID is slowly taking shape, but there are plenty of privacy questions that Apple doesn't want to answer yet. https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...

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