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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.

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.
You can always carry both, i don't stop carrying my wallet and IDs because of Apple Pay. I carry both and pull my phone out in stores and pull my bank card out when I am in a bank. Idk why people think it will be one or the other, most rational people will also carry their passports with them traveling. I would assume that requirement wouldn't change.
 
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California’s digital driver’s license is SO slow, mismanaged, underdeveloped, and extremely expensive. The state should have left the project to Apple’s engineering.
 
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Security is the main concern. Cybercriminals will have a field day if they can hack this. It will not be pretty for Apple nor the state in regard to this sensitive matter. Accountability is the issue. Apple doesn't want any accountability, and neither does the state. Imagine how costly that will be if something goes wrong. The option should be multiple, where one can choose or choose not to. As for the majority, I know they're not that comfortable putting their driver's license information on their smartphones. That's understandable on all levels. Honestly, that's something that I'm not comfortable with at this point and time.
 
California’s digital driver’s license is SO slow, mismanaged, underdeveloped, and extremely expensive. The state should have left the project to Apple’s engineering.
But then California wouldn't be able to spend their over-allocated funding. The thing about government budget is, if you don't spend it, you lose it.
 
From what I understand, in order for a state to participate they have to pay apple for the privilege along with a number of other stipulations. So yeah, not surprising.
 
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."

:rolleyes:
This is a long debunked paranoia. First easy solution is simply keeping the hard copy of your license in the car. The second solution is baked in - it’s available on the Lock Screen. You don’t have to unlock the phone to provide the info. If that becomes an issue, see solution one.
 
I appreciate the convenience of not having to have my wallet on me. I am more likely to forget that, when leaving home, than my phone.

However, there have to be privacy or surveillance issues? I have yet to see an impassioned discussion of those. I have so far only seen dismissals by the same people who wholesale condemn 5G.

For example, could there be similar issues with phone-based IDs as there are with Central-Bank Digital Currencies? I am thinking of the scenario, in which banks or governments would cut individuals off from commerce for any reason, like purchasing too many rounds of ammunition or making a donation to an political opposition candidate.

You already have the driver's license. They have your picture and your home address and general description. This doesn't change anything. If they want to "pull your card" this is going to be completely irrelevant to that.

It's no more dangerous, and in fact in many ways quite a bit safer, than having your driver's license in your pocket. Thieves have built-in readers for those. If they have NFC and you have the driver's license out and unlocked and your phone ready to scan, they can read the same thing as is plainly visible on your driver's license.
 


In just four U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports, businesses, and venues.

apple-wallet-drivers-license-feature.jpg

Adoption of the feature has been slow since Apple first announced it in September 2021, with IDs in the Wallet app only available in Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, and Georgia so far. Two years ago, Apple shared a list of additional states committed to supporting the feature in the future, but none of them have revealed any plans yet.

Participating States
Committed States

In March 2022, Apple said the additional eight states listed below would "soon" allow residents to add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app, but it is now two years later and none of these states support the feature yet.
  • Connecticut
  • Hawaii
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Utah
Apple said the feature would also be supported in Puerto Rico.

In 2021, Apple said it was "already in discussions with many more states" and hoped to offer the feature nationwide in the future.

It is unclear if Apple plans to expand the feature to other countries.

Participating Locations

Apple-Wallet-ID-TSA.jpg

Apple Wallet app IDs can be used at select TSA checkpoints within select U.S. airports:
  • Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
  • Denver International Airport (DEN)
  • Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Apple says travelers should refer to TSA checkpoint signage to confirm availability of the feature.

Apple's website says IDs in the Wallet app can also be used to show proof of age or identity at "select businesses and venues," but adoption is limited.

Article Link: Apple Said iPhone Driver's Licenses Would Expand to These 8 U.S. States… Two Years Ago
It is disappointing that all states in the US, and all other countries are not supporting this feature. It is true that anything involving governments take three times as long as it should and costs four times as much.
 
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Apple’s greatest talent is introducing a whole bunch of stuff and then letting 90% of it languish.

Apple: how about sustained, meaningful development over of the cheap thrill of new features? Less is more.

(Maybe in this case it’s partly out of their control, but still, I don’t think they’re that committed. Surely there are other countries where this could be introduced?)
 
California tried to rolll their own with another app you have to have and find on your phone and it’s a hot mess. No one is surprised. It’s California
 
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Aside from the occasional domestic flight, I never have a reason to show my license. Maybe Apple determined that it's not a must-have or even a nice-to-have for most people.
 
Let’s face it, digital isn’t where it’s at for most old people who make all the decisions. I’m on a three month vacation in Europe and I still love how everyone knows what Apple Pay is. At home in good old Virginny there are many places that are clueless.
I feel like it took a turn for the better around the time Target started taking it on their terminals. Now it’s rare when I can’t use Apple Pay in CO. Home Depot and Walmart still don’t but almost everyone else does, even gas stations.
 
FYI digital ID at TSA is also available in DFW. I used it and the agent said I was his second ever customer to use it.
 
In a country that still uses cheques (checks), why am I not surprised the rollout has been slow.
 
Given the ineptitude and bureaucracy of state governments, I have serious doubt Apple is the primary reason this has not happened as originally envisioned.
 
Part of it is the highly federal nature of how the United States is constituted. Things like IDs are individual states’ issues. The notion of a national ID has been met with a lot of suspicion and has never gotten anywhere. If you have ever had any issues with how Brussels determines aspects of your life without your having recourse, then you know how many Americans feel about the U.S. Federal Government regulating something.
Are you actually comparing EU regulation to America? Not even close.
 
It's sad thing that many of the cool features that Apple introduces, is almost exclusive to US market. EU is specially regulated, but places in Asia though...big potential
 
Apple’s greatest talent is introducing a whole bunch of stuff and then letting 90% of it languish.

Apple: how about sustained, meaningful development over of the cheap thrill of new features? Less is more.

(Maybe in this case it’s partly out of their control, but still, I don’t think they’re that committed. Surely there are other countries where this could be introduced?)

I've seen it said time and time again. The best talent only wants to work on new things. Nobody cares about fixing bugs, not even the developers. Maintaining existing projects and fixing bugs gets assigned to interns and new hires. If even that.

It's all part of the enshirttification process.
 
Here in Louisiana we have been able to use a digital ID via a government developed iOS app for some time. This is oddly progressive for our state.

Then last year all our identifying info like full name, address, license info, and social security numbers were compromised by a breach in the dmv databases. So I likely won’t trust digital ID on an always-connected phone any time soon.
 
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