Apple's digital driver's license system initially planned for the end of the year is now being delayed until early 2022. The feature lets users add their driver's license or state ID into Apple's wallet app. It also allows users to get through TSA by tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch.
Earlier this year, Apple announced that Georgia and Arizona would be the first states to roll out support for Apple's Digital ID, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma and Utah coming later in the year. At the time, Apple said that it planned on adding even more states to the list starting next year.
However, MacRumors has spotted an update on Apple's iOS 15 page that indicates the company's digital ID system won't start rolling out until early 2022. Apple says that people will be able to use their digital ID when they "travel and, in the future, at retailers and venues." The new system is supposed to be a way for users to present their ID and speed up lines at venues or TSA security checkpoints by tapping the iPhone or paired Apple Watch.
Stay Optimistic
This likely means that Georgia and Arizona will still be the first states to support the new digital ID system, with the states mentioned above coming even later than that. Earlier in the year, it was believed that Apple was having a tough time getting states on board as Apple wanted the individual states to fund and maintain the system and for Apple only to handle the front-end system. Apple also said that it would need to approve all marketing and dictate when the feature will roll out in which states.
Apple's original launch date for the end of the year seemed a bit optimistic anyways. The U.S. is typically very slow at adopting new technology. If states were not given a heads up, that gave individual states only six months to fund, staff, test and launch a digital ID system from Apple's announcement at its developer conference in June. In reality, most states likely won't make digital IDs a thing until at least a year from now. But that future does sound awesome when it does show up. Being able to verify ID and get through TSA checkpoints at airports with just a tap sounds fantastic. Furthermore, being able to tap once for both the boarding pass and ID check would significantly speed up wait times at airports.