The impact of iOS 15 on Apple Wallet

iOS 15 is available since September 20, 2021 and comes with several updates. In this article, we will focus on Apple Wallet.

Notification redesign
Notification summary & Focus
Expired passes
Multi-passes download in Safari
ID cards and keys
SMART Health cards (coming soon to Wallet)

Notification (and geofenced message) redesign

Notifications have a new look. Now you can see a larger brand icon and a small Wallet icon on it to make them easier to identify.

Based on our tests on different iPhone models with different text sizes, we notice that the space for the message is less wide because of the icon. So the best practice remains the same: put the most important information at the beginning of the message, personalize it and keep it short.

Check our articles about how to create a notification campaign and geofenced messages for more information.

Notification summary & Focus

These are two main new features that will give users more options to manage their notifications. It will be difficult to assess their adoption rate, but it will for sure affect the Time to Read for users enabling them.

Notification summary

Quick catch up with a helpful collection of notifications delivered daily, based on a schedule that users can set. The summary is intelligently ordered by priority, with the most relevant notifications at the top.

When this feature is enabled in the settings, users can choose from their apps (with allowed notifications) the one they want in the summary. However, there is an option in the settings to enable Time-Sensitive Notifications for Apple Wallet.

Note that the display of geofenced messages is not impacted by the notification summary feature. 

Focus

Focus will only allow the notifications a user wants. Users can pick from a list of suggested Focus options, such as "Driving", or create their own to customize the apps from which they wish to receive notifications.

Expired passes

Users now have a dedicated list of expired passes, so your old boarding passes or museum tickets will no longer stay in the main list.

As a consequence, it will improve loyalty cards visibility. The expired passes list is accessible from the bottom of the main list. 

This feature was already available on Google Wallet.

Multi-passes download in Safari

It was already possible to add many passes with one tap in an app. This feature has now become also available in the web through Safari.

This feature involves a technically advanced integration within your website (not only a regular URL). Check with your contact at Splio for more information.

ID cards and keys

We already knew that Apple was working on the ability to add your identity card or driver’s license. Adding these documents to your Apple Wallet is now allowed in some US states.

Apple is also extending the keys feature, to let users unlock their house, hotel room, and even their workplace with their iPhone.

The main takeaway here is that Apple Wallet is becoming a cornerstone app of users' mobile.

SMART Health cards (coming soon to Wallet)

Users can already upload and store official health records (including COVID-19 vaccinations) into the Health App, which allows users to share their records with approved third-party requesters. With iOS 15.1, the Health app will let users add their COVID-19 vaccination card to their Wallet. Apple warrants to strictly protect the privacy of all their data.

This is a step further towards the adoption of Apple Wallet worldwide.

Source: Apple - Verifiable health records updates 2021 

For more information on iOS 15, and more precisely on the impact of Apple Mail Privacy Protection and Hide my email, you can read this article.