Following a preview at WWDC 2018, Apple today announced that students at three universities in the United States can now add their student ID cards to Apple Wallet to get around campus using just an iPhone or Apple Watch.
Namely, starting today, students at Duke University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Oklahoma can now add their ID card to the Wallet app on iOS 12 and watchOS 5 and use it to pay quickly and easily for laundry, coffee or lunch, and even get into their dorms, the gym, or the school library.
Apple says Johns Hopkins University, Santa Clara University, and Temple University will roll out the capability by the end of this school year.
Students simply hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader anywhere physical student ID cards are accepted — on and off campus. An optional Express Mode bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode, allowing for the quickest entry possible to buildings around campus.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
You have to remember that in most cases the current student generation is on their phone at all times so it is already in their hand or readily available.
My university already has these readers installed on every door. My iPhone and Apple watch make it beep... so why exactly is this roll out so slow? I feel like this is nothing more than adding a student ID to ApplePay.
The article would be a lot more useful (for me) if it provided details on what a campus IT team needed to activate this. You know, so I could bug them about it.
Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
Hmm, I think it's far more likely some would fumble around for a plastic card that has 1 purpose than a phone they probably already have in their hand or a watch that's on their wrist.
Fumbling with a $750-1500 device repeatedly to get into buildings or buy things is nowhere as convenient as slaping a plastic card against a reader. You use this a lot more than Apple pay (which also is annoying since they required that double press a button to activate).
And don't forget it works with Apple Watch.. which presumably is on their wrist, whats more convenient than waving your hand over a reader? No slapping. No fumbling for a plastic card. Just wave your hand, which in most cases is right there. Seems convenient to me.
I find it incredibly amusing that Tim Cook is an Auburn alumn, but Alabama is one of the first schools to roll this out. You think he’d have pushed his alma mater to support it at launch.
