iOS 15 - Cool and Great New Features for Travel

Apple is launching digital IDs, allowing travelers to upload their driver’s licenses or state IDs to their iPhones or Apple Watches via Apple Wallet. Best of all, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has already approved these digital ID cards to be accepted at airport security.

To upload an ID, users will have to take a photo of their card, then complete a series of head movements to capture their likeness. Concerned about privacy? Well, if you use Face ID, Apple already knows what you look like. And if you use Touch ID, it already has your fingerprints from Touch ID.

Per Apple, “[c]ustomers’ identity data is encrypted and protected against tampering and theft. Biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID ensures that only the person who added the ID to the device can view or present their ID or license in Wallet.”

There is a bit of bad news, though; only a few states (and a few airports within those states) will get the new ID tech for now. Arizona and Georgia are leading the pack, then Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah will follow. But should the program go well, there will likely be a country-wide rollout…eventually

PSA:
Additionally, Apple recently released an emergency software update 14.8 to fix a major flaw. Security researchers uncovered a flaw that allows highly invasive spyware to infect anyone’s iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac computer without so much as a click.

So if you are considering if you should update your phone to iOS 15, you should. Or at the least have 14.8 on it. If you hold out to iOS 15, the patch should be part of that software version.

Here’s how to update your iPhone:

1.  Go to Settings. 
2.  Click General. 
3.  Click Software Update. 
4.  Click Install Now to update to iOS 15