Students at some universities across the US and Canada can ditch their iPhone or Apple Watch wallets. In addition, some university students in the United States and Canada may be allowed to ditch their plastic ID cards to bring their iPhones to class. Last Tuesday’s blog post, Apple announced that it is expanding student ID support to more schools in the United States and debuting support in Canada.
University of New Brunswick, Sheridan College, Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, and New Mexico State University is among these institutions. In addition, your Apple Watch can also access Apple’s mobile student ID cards.
Apple has been working on secure alternatives to using a physical wallet. For example, Apple said in June at WWDC that its new iOS 15 operating system will allow you to carry digital replicas of government-issued ID cards, such as your driver’s licence, on your iPhone. The Wallet app function, on the other hand, will only work in states and countries that have signed up.
This school year, tens of thousands of students will be able to use mobile student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch to get around campus and make purchases. In addition, for the first time, mobile student IDs can be added to the Wallet app in Canada, starting with the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College this year. In the US, new schools to adopt mobile student IDs include Auburn University, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University, and many more colleges across the country.
In Canada, students at the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College will be able to use their mobile student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch to access campus buildings and make purchases. In the US, new schools to adopt the technology include Auburn University (Tim Cook’s alma mater!), Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, New Mexico State University, and many more colleges.
Mobile student IDs are becoming increasingly popular among university students and faculty across the US and providing schools with convenient, contactless and secure options for their campuses. Some emerging trends we see include:
- Mobile IDs outpacing plastic IDs: In April 2021, for the first time since launching mobile student IDs in Apple Wallet, students used their mobile IDs to make purchases and access campus buildings more than they used plastic IDs cards.
- Schools going mobile-first and mobile-only: This fall, the University of Alabama will be the first school to exclusively issue mobile student IDs to 38,000 students with eligible devices.
Read more about Student IDs on iPhone and Apple Watch expanding to Canadian universities On Apple.
