You can now use your iPhone as your driver's license in Ohio
Throw that ID away! But not really.
With my iPhone taking over more and more things, I can't wait for a future where all I need to carry around is my iPhone and Apple Watch. I'm slowly but surely getting to that future, but one of the things that's getting in the way of that utopia is my driver's license.
Thankfully, I'm one state away from that getting fixed. In the United States, Ohio has announced that iPhone users can now use their device as their driver's license. The state says that residents of the state can now add their "Ohio-issued Driver's License or ID card" to the Wallet app on iPhone. You'll also then be able to access your ID through your Apple Watch.
In the announcement, the state says "The Ohio Mobile ID provides an easy, private, and secure way for Ohioans to present their state-issued ID in person at businesses and organizations with compliant mobile ID readers and in select apps that require identity or age verification. The Ohio Mobile ID can also be used at select TSA airport security checkpoints."
I can't wait until I can get rid of my driver's license
I can't wait until I can get rid of my physical driver's license, but as someone who lives one state away from Ohio in Pennsylvania, I still have to wait for this to become reality. Hopefully, my state will make this happen sooner rather than later.
Getting rid of my physical ID gets me one step closer to only carrying around an iPhone and Apple Watch. I likely don't need to carry around a wallet anymore as almost everywhere on Earth now accepts digital payments with credit and debit cards.
That leaves one last thing: keys. It doesn't take much now to install a Homekit-compatible door lock that uses your iPhone, Apple Watch, or a keycode to lock and unlock your house, so that's definitely on the list. That leaves the car and, with Apple starting to push into digital keys for the car as well (in addition to Tesla, Rivian, and more releasing similar technology through apps), it seems we're only a few years away from the company having a solution to digitize everything we currently need to carry in our pockets.
More from iMore
- Wallet: The ultimate guide
- How to use rewards cards with Apple Pay and the Wallet app
- Apple's Wallet app may soon support your state ID or driver's license ...
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Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.