Student ID Support Coming to iPhone and Apple Watch, Starting With Select Colleges in United States

[MacRumors]

Apple is bringing Student ID support to iOS 12 and watchOS 5, streamlining how students access everything on their college campus.

At supported schools, students will be able to add their Student ID to an iPhone or Apple Watch and gain access to everything from dorms and dining halls to gyms and libraries, along with campus events or attending class, making purchases from campus retail shops and bookstores, and paying for laundry and items from vending machines.

The program launches this fall with support from Duke University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Oklahoma. Temple University, Johns Hopkins University, and Santa Clara University will add support by the end of the year.

Article Link: Student ID Support Coming to iPhone and Apple Watch, Starting With Select Colleges in United States

 

[jmh600cbr]

I guess we're not getting RFID cards like we thought

 

[cambookpro]

Minor correction, but it's 'Johns Hopkins'. (I only know this because I got the HQ Trivia question on it wrong today...)

 

[kappy94]

And yet no support for the cards to enter our offices....

 

[dontwalkhand]

What about offices? Bus/train passes? I guess for the latter we will be stuck with the transit agency provided apps which aren’t bad but I wish they were more “built in”

 

[inkhorn]

Oh this is a shame, I was really hoping for wider NFC support than just a handful of USA university campus's.

 

[pika2000]

Oh this is a shame, I was really hoping for wider NFC support than just a handful of USA university campus's.

Integrating into security systems like this is not just a flip of a coin. Many contract holders would want a piece of the pie, and not all schools are made from money.

 

[ersan191]

Open this damn API so we can make our own solutions... irritating

 

[longofest]

Open this damn API so we can make our own solutions... irritating

Agreed.

 

[Altis]

One of the only reasons we use students cards is to have on the desk during exams.

Good luck letting you have your phone there for your card.

 

[Solomani]

So if the high school student forgot his iPhone (very unlikely thing to happen) he would not have any ID to show the campus security guard.

 

[ScottHammet]

And yet no support for the cards to enter our offices....

Came to the quotes section to make the same observation.

Would love to not have to carry a badge anymore. Many of our offices have biometric readers, but only on some of the doors. Side doors that lead to the common areas where the bathrooms are located, for example, still have only badge access. So, if you don't have a badge, getting back into the secured floor requires walking all the way around to the one door with a biometric reader. Not that I lament the walk. But it would be great to use an iPhone or Apple Watch instead.

 

[erinsarah]

So if the high school student forgot his iPhone (very unlikely thing to happen) he would not have any ID to show the campus security guard.

So...which do you think is more
Likely...a teen forgets to take her phone, or forgets her ID? Plus...it’s about the watch.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Open this damn API so we can make our own solutions... irritating

They kind of already do, PassKit NFC. Its how the Chargepoint membership card works, or even the Walgreens NFC card. Any developer can implement this if they want.

 

[ersan191]

They kind of already do, PassKit NFC. Its how the Chargepoint membership card works, or even the Walgreens NFC card. Any developer can implement this if they want.

To get access to add other NFC cards to Wallet you have to get Apple to give you something called an "Enhanced Passbook/NFC certificate" - and it is practically impossible to get approved. You can't even test the functionality without getting approved first. That's what I meant by 'open the API', I know it already exists.

 

[pratikindia]

What about offices? Bus/train passes? I guess for the latter we will be stuck with the transit agency provided apps which aren’t bad but I wish they were more “built in”

Apple allows NFC for transit in China, Japan, Russia, Us and UK. It's fast and very convenient. I use it daily for transit.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207958

 

[dontwalkhand]

Apple allows NFC for transit in China, Japan, Russia, Us and UK. It's fast and very convenient. I use it daily for transit.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207958

Except I don't live in Portland, Salt Lake City, or anywhere in Utah . The transit systems I ride all use proprietary apps, including, San Francisco area (Munimobile, VTA EasyFare), Phoenix- where I live right now (Valley Metro Pass2go), Tucson (goTucson), and NYC, which has no app at all at the moment, other than for the LIRR. None of these systems take Apple Pay, but I am excited to try it when I visit Portland for the first time soon. For right now, I feel its just like all the store apps I have to have like Walmart and Target just to pay, but my dream is to live walletless, so this all will have to do for right now. I even installed a viper smart start in my car, and a Kwikset Kevo (again all multiple apps) so I can get rid of my car and house keys.

 

[mastershakess]

Minor correction, but it's 'Johns Hopkins'. (I only know this because I got the HQ Trivia question on it wrong today...)

Thank you, I work there and I hate when people spell or pronounce it wrong!

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

To get access to add other NFC cards to Wallet you have to get Apple to give you something called an "Enhanced Passbook/NFC certificate" - and it is practically impossible to get approved. You can't even test the functionality without getting approved first. That's what I meant by 'open the API', I know it already exists.

I use Siri/HomeKit now to lock/unlock my front door, but it would be AWESOME if my new Jeep with Passive Entry and push button start could work off my Apple Watch instead of their fob.

 

[jonblatho]

One of the only reasons we use students cards is to have on the desk during exams.

Good luck letting you have your phone there for your card.

Don't know what campus you're referring to, and I know this is a really late response, but at OU we're required to use our IDs for, and this is just off the top of my head:

• after-hours building entry
• printing
• access to the campus gym
• access to dorm halls
• access to bedrooms in newer dorms
• laundry in the dorms
• meal plans (unless ordering on mobile)
• access to many campus events

Very rarely have I had to leave my ID out on my desk during an exam, and that's happened only in the few massive lecture-hall classes I've had to take. Many of the professors in my classes wouldn't really care to see a phone on the desk for that purpose. Maybe that's just because I'm in a fairly small major, but in any case, exams are far from "one of the only" reasons that student ID cards are used on many campuses.

 

[dontwalkhand]

I use Siri/HomeKit now to lock/unlock my front door, but it would be AWESOME if my new Jeep with Passive Entry and push button start could work off my Apple Watch instead of their fob.

What would be even cooler is being able to use an iPhone/Apple Watch as the fob itself, but I believe the workaround with certain GM vehicles is leaving the key fob itself in the car, and locking and unlocking the car with their app. Tesla has it the best right now with no key required, the app itself + a bluetooth connection is the key.

 

[TheRealTVGuy]

What would be even cooler is being able to use an iPhone/Apple Watch as the fob itself, but I believe the workaround with certain GM vehicles is leaving the key fob itself in the car, and locking and unlocking the car with their app. Tesla has it the best right now with no key required, the app itself + a bluetooth connection is the key.

I'd love to just double-tap the button on my Apple Watch, have the "key" as the first option, tap it, then get in and go. It would also be nice to display electronic DMV/Insurance info on the watch. At that point you could leave your home with nothing but the watch!