Apple announced iOS 15 back in July 2021, and it came with several new features. One of the most notable features that went unnoticed was the addition of Apple Wallet supporting car keys, the ability to store IDs and vaccination cards, as well as office keys and other digital keys. The latter was later delayed until 2022,

In a press release today, Silverstein Properties announced that it successfully implemented employee badges in Apple Wallet, allowing authorized people to access office buildings, tenant floor, fitness center, and amenity spaces using their iPhones or Apple Watch devices. The company plans to offer the new service to its 50,000 office customers in New York, and it plans to expand it to Philadelphia, and Los Angeles in the coming months.

After initially setting it all up using the Silverstein Inspire application, employees and tenants will have to add their employee badges to the Apple Wallet. Once the badge is added, authorized people will be able to access buildings, offices, and amenity spaces. The company also says that “unlike the physical cards, there is no waiting time for gaining building credentials and access for new employees.”

“We are proud to make it easy for our employees and customers to get into our buildings, their offices, and our shared lounges, cafes, conference facilities and yoga studios using employee badge in Apple Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch. [...] Through our Inspire app, we can now provide and manage access to any number of buildings and spaces in a safe and secure way.” said Tal Kerret, President of Silverstein Properties.

It’s unclear what other solutions the company will provide to those employees and tenants who do not actively use an iPhone or Apple Watch. Our best guess is that they would be required to use regular key cards for the time being, until Google decides to implement a similar functionality into Android itself or Google Pay.

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