Apple Wallet: Custom cards definable from iOS 27 – like with NeatPass
Previously, Apple's card collection point only accepted specific IDs, tickets, and loyalty cards. With iOS 27, there are freer configuration options.
Apple Wallet App: More configuration options coming with iOS 27.
(Image: Apple)
Since 2012, Apple has offered a card collection point on the iPhone: From 2012 to 2015, it was called Passbook (until iOS 9), and for over ten years now, it has simply been called Apple Wallet or just Wallet. This is where Apple Pay credit cards, membership and loyalty cards, as well as various types of barcode and QR code tickets issued by airlines, concert promoters, or railway companies are stored. In certain markets, like the USA, ID cards and driver's licenses have also been added recently. The problem: If a card is to be included in Wallet, it must be adapted for the special format – and not every provider uses it. As part of iOS 27, Apple now plans to improve this: according to a Bloomberg report, so-called “custom wallet passes” are to be introduced.
Direct Integration into the Wallet Application
Apple is apparently taking inspiration from apps like NeatPass, which already enable exactly that. Cynics already see “Sherlocking” coming for the user base, which is what the process is called when Apple borrows from the independent app scene to integrate their features directly into its operating system. For developers, this often means the end – or a complete overhaul of their business model.
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According to the report, a “create card” function is planned for Wallet. Existing digital tickets that land on the device via email or iMessage / RCS, for example, should be transferable to Wallet just like physical gift cards with bar and QR codes. The new tool can scan the information contained on the tickets and cards and then create an Apple-style Wallet entry from it. The integration is deep: simply tap the “+” button in Wallet.
What Apple is Sherlocking
“Create [Wallet] passes for tickets, memberships, gift cards, and more,” Apple advertises the feature, according to Bloomberg. There will also be several templates: Standard (in orange), Membership (in blue), and Events (in violet). Leaks that Apple might be working on the feature surfaced a few months ago.
The app NeatPass by developer Justin Lanfermann works in principle the same way. It can scan documents, such as PDFs and photos, for card content and then analyze them using a local Qwen model to create a nice-looking card. These passes can also be graphically customized. The AI usage allows details like seat numbers or times to be recognized. However, both NeatPass and the new function planned by Apple lack something crucial: dynamic adaptation, as “real” Wallet passes technically support. For example, changes by the organizer cannot be passed on. Apple recently made significant improvements here, for example for flight tickets.
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