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Imagine arriving at a border to find out you are effectively stateless because your phone ran out of battery. I can just picture the immigration authorities dec

Imagine arriving at a border to find out you are effectively stateless because your phone ran out of battery. I can just picture the immigration authorities declining to lend you a phone charger while you spend the night in detention, even though doing so would clear everything up. Boarding passes are another thing. Airline employees are not the most accommodating in the world, but probably more accommodating than border guards. I'm sure a gate agent can look up or reissue a boarding pass when I have an ID and credit card in hand. And worst case, you miss the flight. You don't get locked in the airport.

wenc 6y ago
This is mitigated by the fact that iPhones have power reserve for 5 hours for even after the phones main battery is depleted. This is how Express Transit works — you can tap your iPhone to pay for your subway ride even when your phone is dead. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209495 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209495 One might argue that even the reserve power might run out on a really long flight, say like a SIN-JFK. But most travelers these days carry battery packs so it’s not a big deal. Even if they don’t, a neighboring passenger would probably have one, and a few minutes of charging should suffice. But in reality I imagine this would be more useful for shorter/frequent cross border trips like say at the US Canada border. For longer trips, most people would probably still want to carry a paper passport as a backup. Phones can fail for many reasons. Boarding passes are already largely electronic in the US. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a printed boarding pass. Plus all you need to reprint your boarding pass at a kiosk is your record locator. This is largely a solved problem.
daveoc64 6y ago
I agree with you that it would seem unsuitable to rely solely on your phone to serve as a passport or other ID, but it seems like a useful addition for convenience. You could keep your passport securely in your bag or pocket, and then use the phone to save time. It's similar to using a phone to pay for things using Apple Pay or Google Pay - you can still get your credit card out of your wallet to pay, but grabbing your phone might be more convenient.

wenc 6y ago

This is mitigated by the fact that iPhones have power reserve for 5 hours for even after the phones main battery is depleted. This is how Express Transit works — you can tap your iPhone to pay for your subway ride even when your phone is dead. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209495 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209495 One might argue that even the reserve power might run out on a really long flight, say like a SIN-JFK. But most travelers these days carry battery packs so it’s not a big deal. Even if they don’t, a neighboring passenger would probably have one, and a few minutes of charging should suffice. But in reality I imagine this would be more useful for shorter/frequent cross border trips like say at the US Canada border. For longer trips, most people would probably still want to carry a paper passport as a backup. Phones can fail for many reasons. Boarding passes are already largely electronic in the US. It’s been a few years since I’ve had a printed boarding pass. Plus all you need to reprint your boarding pass at a kiosk is your record locator. This is largely a solved problem.

daveoc64 6y ago

I agree with you that it would seem unsuitable to rely solely on your phone to serve as a passport or other ID, but it seems like a useful addition for convenience. You could keep your passport securely in your bag or pocket, and then use the phone to save time. It's similar to using a phone to pay for things using Apple Pay or Google Pay - you can still get your credit card out of your wallet to pay, but grabbing your phone might be more convenient.