Apple Wallet, similar to all other iOS 26 applications, is set to receive some Liquid Glass UI enhancements this year. Moreover, iOS 26 is a particularly comprehensive update introducing numerous features to Apple Wallet. Here’s what’s coming.
## Boarding Pass Improvements
Digital boarding passes have increasingly become a standard offering of the Wallet app throughout the years. In iOS 26, they are about to become even more impressive.
New features for boarding passes include:
– Live Activities
– Airport maps
– Luggage tracking with Find My
A noteworthy aspect of the Live Activities functionality is the easy sharing option with a friend or family member. Provided that Apple secures participation from enough airlines, the boarding passes in iOS 26 should be a considerable enhancement for your upcoming travels.
## Support for US Passports
Digital IDs have been gradually integrated into Apple Wallet over the years, with each US state needing to individually adopt the feature. However, in iOS 26, there’s a significant advancement for digital IDs: US passports will now be supported.
Apple states that adding your US passport to Wallet will allow you to use it as identification “at TSA checkpoints, in apps, and in person.” Nonetheless, it’s always wise to check specific airport regulations before traveling solely with a digital ID.
## Order Tracking Enhanced by Apple Intelligence
A few years back in iOS 16, Apple Wallet introduced a new order tracking functionality that aimed to transform Wallet into a centralized platform for monitoring all of your online purchases. Unfortunately, this feature relied on third-party vendor support to be genuinely effective, which has been difficult to achieve. Yet, in iOS 26, Apple aims to address this through Apple Intelligence.
Apple Wallet can now detect and summarize order tracking information from emails received from merchants or delivery services. This feature spans all user orders, allowing them to view comprehensive order details, progress alerts, and more, all within a single interface. On compatible iPhones, AI will extract delivery tracking information straight from your inbox, enhancing Wallet’s order tracking capabilities without dependent third-party collaborations.
## Stored Credit Card Information
Third-party password managers like 1Password have previously provided a secure way to save credit card details. However, when Apple introduced its new Passwords app last year, this feature was absent. In iOS 26, though, the Wallet app will gain the ability to save full credit card details. By default, you will still only be able to see the last four digits of the Apple Pay identifier, but there will now be an option to include the complete card number, expiration date, and additional information.
## Apple Pay Installments and In-Store Rewards
While using Apple Pay for in-store transactions, iOS 26 introduces the capability of paying in installments through one of Apple’s pre-existing partners like Affirm. Users can also benefit from rewards associated with their chosen Apple Pay card. These choices will be incorporated into the updated payment workflow when initiating Apple Pay.
This feature has not appeared on any of Apple’s official feature listings. However, in light of the recent backlash regarding an F1 The Movie-related Wallet notification, it was found that iOS 26 enables the option to disable promotional notifications. Within the Wallet app’s notification settings, there is a new ‘Offers & Promotions’ notification category that you can turn on or off according to your preference.
## Conclusion on Apple Wallet in iOS 26
The rise of Apple Pay, alongside a continually expanding array of new iOS features over the years, has made Apple Wallet increasingly vital to the iPhone. It’s encouraging to see Apple acknowledge this by focusing on so many new iOS 26 functionalities for Wallet.
