What you need to know
- Apple executives Kevin Lynch and Deidre Caldbeck sat down for a new interview with Yahoo!
- The executives talked about Apple's goal to replace the physical wallet with Apple Watch.
In a new interview with Yahoo!, Apple executives Kevin Lynch and Deidre Caldbeck talked about the company's plan to replace with wallet - not with the iPhone - but with the Apple Watch. Caldbeck said that it is Apple's ultimate goal is to make the Apple Watch have everything you need as far as IDs, credit cards, and more go.
"This is kind of our vision for eventually replacing the physical wallet where you just have everything you need...right on your wrist," Deidre Caldbeck, director of Apple Watch product marketing, told Yahoo Finance.
The Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch already let you house debit cards, credit cards, loyalty cards, plane tickets, and other commonly used forms of verification. Now, with iOS 15 and watchOS 8, Apple is bringing keys to your home and your drivers' license to the app.
Lynch says that, by digitizing forms of ID, you'll be able to only share the pieces of information necessary in a particular situation.
"We're early on this, obviously," Apple VP of technology Kevin Lynch explained. "You'll be able to have it in your Wallet. You can see your ID there like your other cards. And then you can present that if you choose to, for example, TSA."When presenting your driver's license, your watch will display information like your name, age, address, and other information based on what you're required to show."Very much like how Apple Pay works, you can digitally present it, and the information can show up for the person who is looking at your ID," Lynch said. "And we manage which information is available to which person. Kind of like you do in [the Health app]."
The executive kind of hit the nail on the head when he expresses how fun it is to be able to unlock a car with your Apple Watch.
"It's a lot of fun to be able to just walk up to your car and have it unlock and then drive," Lynch said. "I think where we're at right now, with this kind of keys to the world type thing that we're working on here with Apple Watch."
ID and home key support will launch with iOS 15 and watchOS 8 in the fall. While the iPhone and Apple Watch will support the new features, it will also require you to have a compatible door lock or live in a state that supports digital IDs. This is a long-term bet for sure, but another important step into a future without the physical wallet.
If you want to use your Apple Watch as your wallet, you'll want to make sure its screen isn't cracked. To protect it, check out our list of the best screen protectors for Apple Watch Series 6 in 2021.
Powerful health and wellness device
Adding a blood oxygen sensor and always-on altimeter doesn't seem like a big upgrade, but when paired with everything else the Apple Watch does, this is the most significant upgrade since the Series 4.
