- Apple’s Wallet app got a big iOS 26 update at WWDC 2025
- There are new features for travel, from passports to boarding passes
- Virtual car keys are coming to more vehicles, too
At its WWDC 2025 event earlier this week, Apple took the time to showcase some new features coming to its Wallet app in iOS 26. This could make it easier than ever to manage your passports, boarding passes and more, and there are also new additions coming to connected cars that use virtual car keys using Wallet.
For starters, Apple Wallet is adding the ability to store virtual passports. Apple says this “is not a replacement for a physical passport, and cannot be used for international travel and border crossing in lieu of a U.S. passport.” Still, it can be used at various TSA checkpoints “for identity verification purposes during domestic travel.” Right now, it’s unfortunately limited to US passports.
Speaking of travel, Wallet can now provide you with more information on your stored boarding passes. These include Live Activities that show your flight’s progress, maps to your assigned terminal and baggage checking point, and information on your arrival terminal, gate, baggage claim area, and more.
Wallet’s upgrades are not just limited to airline travel, as it’s now able to display driver’s licenses and state IDs to websites for age and identity verification. This currently works with services like Chime, Turo, Uber Eats and U.S. Bank, plus the Arizona MVD, Georgia DDS, and Maryland MVA.
Apple Intelligence and car keys
Thirdly, Wallet has also been refreshed with Apple Intelligence, which can now be used to identify, summarize and show order tracking info that it finds in your emails. The iOS 26 update also means you can pay in installments or with rewards when making in-store purchases using the Wallet app.
The Wallet app isn’t just used for purchases and travel, though – it can also store virtual car keys that unlock a connected vehicle using your phone. With iOS 26, that’s coming to more manufacturers, as spotted by 9to5Mac.
At the moment, virtual car keys work with 20 vehicle brands, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, and Volvo. At WWDC 2025, Apple said 13 more brands would be adding the feature soon, with manufacturers like Cadillac, GMC, and Porsche on the list (scroll down for the full list). We don’t yet know when these brands will add support, but with Apple teasing them as coming soon, hopefully we won’t have long to wait.
That all means that Apple’s Wallet app is going to be a lot more capable when iOS 26 launches this fall (although you can already try it out by downloading the iOS 26 developer beta).
Whether you’re traveling or paying for something on the go, it could be a great option, and with Apple agreeing to let users choose different payment apps in the EU, we could see some of these features come to rival iOS apps as well.
- Acura
- Cadillac
- Chery
- Chevrolet
- GMC
- Hongqi
- Lucid
- Porsche
- Rivian
- Smart
- Tata
- Voyah
- WEY
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alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake)
