iOS 26 gives Wallet’s most neglected feature the fix it always needed

This is shaping up to be a big year for the Wallet app, with upgrades coming to car keys, boarding passes, and passports. But that’s not all: Apple Wallet’s most neglected feature, order tracking, is also getting the fix it’s always needed in iOS 26.

Wallet’s order tracking gets AI upgrade in iOS 26

I suspect the Wallet app may elicit complicated feelings from the team responsible for its development inside Apple.

Why? Because many new Wallet features have depended heavily on getting outside partners signed on. And without those partners, the features aren’t worth much.

Digital IDs, for example, have rolled out slowly over several years as US states have been in no hurry to support the feature.

It’s a similar story for car keys, with automakers not willing to yield control to Apple.

A few years ago, iOS 16 added another Wallet feature you may have never even heard of: order tracking.

Order tracking sought to consolidate key info about your online purchases from various merchants inside Apple Wallet.

The problem? Not many merchants have supported the feature.

Despite being available for years, I just got my first order inside the Wallet app this past December.

As great as the idea of a one-stop order tracking hub is, for most users it simply hasn’t worked.

Fortunately, iOS 26 has a key change coming that should fix that.

Here’s Apple’s press release:

Apple Wallet can now identify and summarize order tracking details from emails sent from merchants or delivery carriers. This works across all of a user’s orders, giving them the ability to see their full order details, progress notifications, and more, all in one place.

Sounds great, right?

One thing that nearly all online purchases have in common, regardless of merchant, is that they elicit a confirmation email.

In hindsight, of course, it seems like Apple should have taken this approach from the very beginning.

But it couldn’t. Why? Because the new feature requires Apple Intelligence.

AI is being used by Apple to extract the important order tracking info from emails.

That means you’ll need an iPhone 15 Pro or later to get the upgraded order tracking experience.

But if it works as advertised, order tracking in iOS 26 could indeed make the Wallet app your one-stop hub for purchases.

What do you think of iOS 26’s order tracking upgrade for the Wallet app? Let us know in the comments.

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