These 2 free Apple Wallet upgrades are long overdue

If I had to pinpoint the two most important apps on my iPhone, they’d undoubtedly be Messages and Apple Wallet. Not a day goes by that I don’t send messages back and forth with friends and family, and not a day goes by that I don’t use Apple Wallet to pay for something — whether it’s coffee, lunch, groceries, or gas. In fact, I hardly ever pull out my physical wallet anymore.

What I like most about Apple Wallet is its simplicity, and how Apple continually evolves it each year to make it even more useful, and iOS 26 was no exception. Apple introduced Digital ID to Apple Wallet, which lets users create a digital ID from their US passport for use at TSA checkpoints for domestic travel. It also rolled out enhanced boarding passes, adding features such as Live Activities for boarding passes on the lock screen, quick access to airport maps, and the ability to track luggage via Find My.

Now, with Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2026) right around the corner, running from June 8 to 12, the tech giant is expected to unveil iOS 27 and additional Apple Wallet upgrades. Two of the biggest features it’s reportedly set to announce are long overdue and could improve how you use Apple Wallet every day.

Splitting the bill could soon be much easier

You may soon also be able to digitize physical passes

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a strong track record when it comes to Apple news, iOS 27 is expected to introduce a new Apple Wallet feature designed to make splitting restaurant bills much easier.

The feature will reportedly allow users to take a photo of a receipt in Apple Wallet and then assign individual items to different people. Once that’s done, Apple Wallet can generate payment requests for each person, making it easy for everyone to pay their share of the bill.

The feature is said to be tied to Apple Cash (Apple’s peer-to-peer payment service), which makes sense since it relies on friends and family sending you money for their portion of the bill.

Gurman also reports that Apple Wallet will automatically calculate each person’s share of the tax and tip, which will no doubt be super handy, as I’ve always found that the most frustrating part of splitting a bill with friends by hand.

Additionally, Apple Wallet is rumored to get another useful upgrade with iOS 27. According to MacRumors, the app may soon let users convert physical passes into digital ones that can be stored directly in Apple Wallet.

For example, if you have a library card, gym membership, or an event ticket with a barcode, you’ll reportedly be able to take a photo of it and have Apple Wallet create a digital version that you can carry on your iPhone instead. The feature is said to rely on Visual Intelligence, an Apple Intelligence feature that can read and scan photos and pull information for them.

Google already has a feature like this for Google Wallet called “Everything Else,” which, based on my experience, works extremely well, so it’s nice that Apple will finally be catching up in this regard.

Overall, both of these new Apple Wallet features reportedly coming with iOS 27 seem incredibly useful, and I can’t wait to give them a try when they likely launch later this year. Apple’s big keynote for WWDC 2026 is on June 8, so hopefully we’ll officially learn about them then.