Germany To Support Scanning National ID NFC Tags With iPhones After iOS 13

When Apple releases iOS 13 to the public later this year, it will enable iPhones to interact with a wider range of NFC tags than is currently the case with iOS 12. Following The Verge’s report last week that Japan had confirmed its national ID cards would support use with iPhones, German authorities have now also said that a number of its own forms of ID will be iPhone-ready.

The news was first found by iphone-ticker.de, and noted that Germany’s interior ministry had confirmed that following the release of iOS 13 iPhones will be able to hold multiple forms of identification. Those include residency permits, passports, and German national identity cards. The federal government’s AusweisApp2 will also be updated to support iOS 13 in order to support the new functions.

While iPhones have supported NFC for years, Apple previously only allowed it to be used in very specific ways. Those restrictions are now being relaxed, with iOS 13 allowing iPhones to scan more NFC tags than was previously the case. However, it won’t be the Wild West out there with developers still having to get approval from Apple before their apps will be granted access to iOS 13’s new NFC scanning capabilities.

Apple’s iOS 13 is currently in testing with developers able to download the second beta currently.

Testing is expected to continue, with a release to the public likely to take place this coming September, just in time for new iPhones to also be released in the same month.

(Source: iphone-ticker.de [Google Translate])

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