Florida drivers, you won't need to carry around your license anymore
Florida is officially joining the ranks of U.S. states which have agreed to store official ID's, including driver's licenses, inside the iPhone's Apple Wallet, as well as on the Apple Watch.
In a fairly recent endeavor by Apple to get its iPhone customers to go fully digital, the Cupertino company has been getting a slew of states to co-operate with accepting official ID's (in airport security checkpoints first, and eventually at other places) in a virtual rather than physical form.
The first states to get on board with official ID's going digital inside Apple's ecosystem were Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah. Eventually among others, these states were the first to allow their residents to store both state ID's and driver's licenses in the secure Apple Wallet.
Via a report by MacRumors, the Florida state government has announced that residents will be able to download a new digital ID app from both the Google Play Store and App Store by mid-November, and are also working with Apple to have these digital ID's become compatible with the Apple Wallet at the same time.
The "Florida Smart ID" section of the FLHSMV (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles) reads:
After downloading and authenticating, Florida motorists will simply launch their Florida Smart ID app, select the type of verification needed, and display the QR/barcode on their smart device to be scanned for verification. The smart device does not need to leave the owner's hand when being verified by a retailer or by law enforcement, making Florida Smart ID a contact-free and convenient way to display proof of identity or age.
Not only will this method prove hopefully much more convenient to Florida residents (as one is much less likely to forget or lose their phone), but it's also one less risk of viral contamination, with iPhone users having a fully contactless way to present their ID's to TSA officials as of this November.
"We are excited that the TSA and so many states are already on board to help bring this to life for travelers across the country using only their iPhone and Apple Watch," says Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "And we are already in discussions with many more states as we’re working to offer this nationwide in the future.”
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