iOS 17.2 supercharges AirDrop with a new way of sharing tickets

(Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

iOS 17.2 is in the final stages of testing, and its release notes reveal a secret: AirDrop will now let you easily share boarding passes and more between two iPhones.

For those unfamiliar, AirDrop has been available on iPhones since iOS 8. Before iOS 17, when you opened the Share sheet, you could send photos and videos to other iPhones around you. In iOS 17, this was improved further by NameDrop, which let you tap your iPhone with another to share contact information.

In iOS 17.2, AirDrop will now let you share boarding passes and movie tickets, just like NameDrop. You open up the Wallet app, select a pass, and then you can tap your iPhone with another to send it across.

This upcoming update for iPhone XS and above is expected to be released soon, and also brings Spatial Video recording to iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, a Journal app, the ability to ‘favorite’ songs in Apple Music, and more.

Bring this to Apple Watch too — iMore’s take

An iPhone 15 and an Apple Watch Series 9 exchanging contact information using the NameDrop feature. — (Image credit: Apple)

NameDrop has been a fun new feature that I’ve used several times on my iPhone since iOS 17 was released in September. Before this feature, swapping contact information at events has always felt awkward. I’d have to ‘prank call’ the other person in order to get their number, then make sure that their name was spelled correctly.

So being able to simply tap my iPhone with another has changed that completely. With iOS 17.2 bringing this method to even more credentials, it’s only going to help further when you need to quickly share some tickets. Yet this feature could arguably work even better on Apple Watch.

Take trains for example, where you have to make sure you’re constantly moving to get through the barriers with your ticket. In the UK, you can scan a QR code and you’ll be let through. But what if you’ve bought two tickets and, in a hurry to board the train, you’ve forgotten to give one of them to your partner? If this new feature of AirDrop and tickets could be used on Apple Watch, it would save even more time. You could tap your Watch with your partner’s, the ticket would transfer over, and you’d both be on the train in no time.

This feels like the natural next step for Apple Watch and AirDrop — but being able to share tickets on iPhone through this improved feature is a great start.

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Daryl is iMore's Features Editor, overseeing long-form and in-depth articles and op-eds. Daryl loves using his experience as both a journalist and Apple fan to tell stories about Apple's products and its community, from the apps we use everyday to the products that have been long forgotten in the Cupertino archives.

Previously Software & Downloads Writer at TechRadar, and Deputy Editor at StealthOptional, he's also written a book, 'The Making of Tomb Raider', which tells the story of the beginnings of Lara Croft and the series' early development. He's also written for many other publications including WIRED, MacFormat, Bloody Disgusting, VGC, GamesRadar, Nintendo Life, VRV Blog, The Loop Magazine, SUPER JUMP, Gizmodo, Film Stories, TopTenReviews, Miketendo64 and Daily Star.