This is lightning speed compared to the roll out of RealID-- the critical security feature scheduled to be deployed in 2025 in response to the 2001 terrorist attacks...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Said iPhone Driver's Licenses Would Expand to These 8 U.S. States… Two Years Ago
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I guess I can see the convenience of having my ID digitally on my phone for quick identity and age verifications such as when I occasionally buy an alcoholic beverage or going through the airport, etc. But never in a million years would I make this my go-to ID when I was driving and then hand my phone over to a cop if I got pulled over like "Yup here ya go officer, my phone is fully unlocked and ready to go for you!"
They took “Live Free or Die” a little too seriously.Well i know NH will be lastYou still don't even need to wear a seatbelt here.
it doesnt work like that, the officer will have a scanner that will communicate with the phone to validate your informationThis is a solution looking for a problem.
"License and registration, please."
"Oh, here officer. Just take my whole unlocked phone and feel free to do whatever you want with it."
Exactly this.... and selected airports letting you scan your phone as ID? It's all great until you start relying on it and your phone suddenly crashes/dies as you need to board a flight. That or you count on using it and forget you're departing from an airport that doesn't accept it.This is a solution looking for a problem.
"License and registration, please."
"Oh, here officer. Just take my whole unlocked phone and feel free to do whatever you want with it."
The great thing about traditional paper/plastic IDs is, they don't run on a power source and have no complex electronics that might cause them not to be viewable.
Well it's California, so expect to wait about 10 years while they assemble multiple exploratory committees consisting of various bureaucrats, activists, "consultants" and the like, and allocate a $50 million budget only for them to come back after a decade of making themselves rich(-er) and say "We looked into it but found this is not feasible for us to implement at this time." What a joke of a state.
Yeah until he comes back and says "Oops looks like the scanner authentication tool 'isn't working' so I'm gonna need you to go ahead and unlock that for me 🙂"
I would love to add my Driver's ID to my Apple Wallet. I can't believe it hasn't happened yet. WA State is always so behind
New York State also refused my Real ID application because my Passport doesn’t, and never will unless I’m forced to, have my middle initial on it. If it’s good enough to get a Passport and Passport Card issued, it really should’ve been good enough for the state. Oh well, I just travel with the passport card and my hopes for a digital drivers license is next to nil.
apple needs to stop promising things they can't deliver. glad articles calling them out exist.
if you can't even convince your home state to adopt it, the problem is you.
if you can't even convince your home state to adopt it, the problem is you.
Uh, no... That's not how it works. They don't look at your digital ID visually like they do for physical IDs. They use an NFC reader, just like how cashiers use an NFC reader to take your payment. (Do you hand the cashier your unlocked phone?) The officer does not/cannot take your phone without a warrant. If they have trouble with your digital ID or suspect it's not genuine, they'll ask for your physical ID.This is a solution looking for a problem.
"License and registration, please."
"Oh, here officer. Just take my whole unlocked phone and feel free to do whatever you want with it."
That's...not the point... And even if someone does have texts like that, so what? Unless the cop has a search warrant or strong probable cause then he shouldn't be looking at ANYTHING on my phone other than my ID. There are wayyyy too many cops out there who see the Fourth and Fifth Amendments as an annoying inconvenience rather than fundamental rights, and they resort to petty mind games and scare tactics to try and get people to forego those rights so that later the cop can say "BuT i AsKeD yOu If I cOuLd EnTeR YoUr HoUsE aNd YoU sAiD yEs 🥴"
So let me ask you this, if you're apparently so willing to share any and all of your communications without hesitation then what's stopping you from autoforwarding all of your texts to me if I wanted to see them? Like what makes the cop so special that you just inherently trust him with some of your most sensitive data like that? And if he does peek at your texts even though you have nothing illegal to hide as you said, why do not care about any judgment he may hold about you personally?
This is why I would never put a sticker on my vehicle. It’s already bad enough driving with the license plate showing the state you are from in some states.
I have my Georgia license on my phone every thought it’s worthless. Georgia law requires you to keep your license in your possession even if it’s on your phone.
I was flying out of Denver a month ago and the guy in front of me tried to use his digital license at the TSA checkpoint and the TSA lady made him get out of line to go be verified by another person. So… you’ll forgive me if I lack confidence in the feature, even if Apple does get more states to pick this up.
I wouldn’t say the US—Apple’s home— is technologically backwards, but we have 50 independent governments, all of which issue and administer their own IDs.
Here in Denmark we haven’t really got ANY stores that don’t support Apple Pay. I have quite literally not brought my wallet with me for a couple of years on a regular basis. Apple Pay and driving license on an government iPhone app (would LOVE an Apple Watch app)
Stuff like this require legislation and new infrastructure from local governments and training for staff and the police on how to handle digital licenses. It’ll take time for most state governments to get around to all of that and find funding for it. Apple Pay took 4-5 years to get widely adopted in the U.S. by businesses so expect this to take even longer since there is even less of a profit motive.