Apple has announced a few states that will support using state IDs and driver's licenses in Apple Wallet. While you won't be able to throw your physical ID in the junk drawer just yet, this is a step in that direction.
Which States Will Support Apple Wallet For IDs?
According to Apple, the first states that will support Apple Wallet for IDs are Arizona and Georgia. After those two, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah will jump into the mix, bringing mobile ID support.
While this is a remarkable development in terms of the usefulness of Apple Wallet, it's very much in the early phases, and getting individual stores and other locations that ask for ID onboard will take some time.
In fact, it sounds like airports will be the primary place where these Apple Wallet IDs can be used, and even there, they'll only be accepting in specific lanes. "The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will enable select airport security checkpoints and lanes in participating airports as the first locations customers can use their driver's license or state ID in Wallet," Apple said in a press release.
It's definitely going to take some time before you can start leaving your actual ID at home. Apple's release said, "Participating states and the TSA will share more information at a later date about when support for mobile driver's licenses and state IDs in Wallet will be available in each state, and which TSA airport security checkpoints and select lanes it will be available at first."
The Future of Apple Wallet
In its release, Apple talked about the future of Wallet. It mentioned using it to access a customer's home, apartment, hotel keys, and corporate badges. It sounds like adding IDs is just the first step in Apple's plan to replace physical wallets with digital ones, as the company has some lofty goals.