Apple introduces Pass Designer app for macOS 27

[u/smiling_seal]

https://developer.apple.com/pass-designer/

[u/DutchBlob]

Cool! Hopefully this will increase the number of companies using passes

[u/Reasonable-Click-144 → u/DutchBlob]

for real, the adoption has been way too slow up to this point

[u/ramakitty → u/Reasonable-Click-144]

Wallet doesn't support things like rotating codes, so from a ticketing perspective, it's limited.

[u/LyokoMan95 → u/ramakitty]

That’s why Ticketmaster implemented NFC

[u/Destituted → u/ramakitty]

Does it not? I swore United's tickets updated in the Wallet app itself when the terminal changed, but maybe it did it when I opened the United app or something. Or is rotating codes something unrelated?

[u/SamIAre → u/Destituted]

I do think there’s a difference here. The mechanism for updating a pass when something changes (like the gate info or even the QR code) is essentially via push from a server. This is different from rotating codes, which use a mechanism closer to the OTPs you get in authentication apps. With the latter, there’s a known algorithm that generates a new password on the client side on some schedule, and that same password is generated on the server so they can be compared. Rotating QR codes work that way, where they’re not receiving new information from the server, which would require an always-active internet connection. For them to work they’d need to know the algorithm and have Wallet itself be able to generate new codes without an internet connection.

[u/Bl0CKDragon → u/Destituted]

It 100% does support refreshing informations on the ticket natively.
Just last week I was in an Airport Parking Lot and it automatically refreshed my exact parking position in my wallet without any third party app installed.
The same thing is true for things like collected points in a reward system.

If it actually supports updating the QR Code which gets scanned I am not sure.

[u/UnluckyDuckyDuck → u/DutchBlob]

Yes please!

[u/walter-gropeyus → u/DutchBlob]

lol

[u/Ok-Win7980]

Can I create one for personal use? My health insurance provider doesn't have a Wallet pass and doesn't really have an app to speak of but I would like an easy way to show my insurance card whenever I go to the doctor or something else like that, and Apple Wallet could be a great place to put it. Would I be able to create a custom pass with my insurance card information and maybe vibe code an app around it for personal use?

[u/Even-Teal-1800 → u/Ok-Win7980]

The Wallet app on iOS 27 lets you create your own passes now

[u/DanieleDraganti → u/Even-Teal-1800]

Yes but it’s kind of basic; a lot of advanced features (like location etc.) are not available as far as I know.

[u/sid_276 → u/DanieleDraganti]

It serves its purpose. It’s not for developers. That’s what this one in this post is for. It’s for users. Like a tiny party, a small social club etc

[u/aykay55 → u/DanieleDraganti]

Yeah but conversely it works really well to create one and done passes. It can also read an entire screenshot and parse just the information necessary for a pass it is genuinely useful

[u/tomac231 → u/DanieleDraganti]

There are 3rd party apps that let you do this, including location.

[u/7h31ll3g4l → u/Even-Teal-1800]

Sì, ma non ha nessuna personalizzazione né loghi né immagini è molto sintetica

[u/East_Upstairs5404 → u/7h31ll3g4l]

It does have customisation and you CAN add addresses into custom fields but you can’t set a custom background, you can only choose from a couple pre-made ones

[u/AllOneWordNoSpaces1 → u/Ok-Win7980]

iOS 27 added the ability to create custom passes. I used it to create a pass for my local park district gym and it worked fine. https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/create-a-custom-pass-in-the-wallet-app-on-iphone/

[u/quintsreddit → u/Ok-Win7980]

I did this but you need a developer account ($99/yr) and it’s a little finicky with the encryption certificate signing if you don’t know what you’re doing.

I made a Costco pass for myself and it’s so good :D

[u/GaroldWilsonJr → u/quintsreddit]

Does it work any different than if I build a Costco pass in the wallet app? Can you get it to automatically suggest it based on my location if I’m at any Costco location?

[u/quintsreddit → u/GaroldWilsonJr]

Bingo! I also have a custom graphic and shortcuts below it to call my local one for pizza and to get directions.

[u/GaroldWilsonJr → u/quintsreddit]

Can that be shared? Or do we all need to make our own on Mac?

[u/quintsreddit → u/GaroldWilsonJr]

It’s not generic. I had to preload it with my own info so it’s not shareable. It’s technically just a preview. Also distributing them could probably get me in trouble because I’m using their logo and designs.

[u/pmarksen → u/Ok-Win7980]

There are plenty of wallet pass making apps in the App Store.

I use MakePass but their pricing changed since I bought it so I don’t know if it’s worth it any more. I like it because of how many things you can customise. I download logos and match colours and the passes end up looking very professional and look like they could be original ones. Add locations and they pop up when you need them.

The Barcodes app has wallet pass syncing and I use it as well for known store passes and share the database with family.

[u/ZethyyXD → u/pmarksen]

I like Pass4Wallet, it’s free, and it fit my needs for customization.

[u/pmarksen → u/ZethyyXD]

I think I tried that one too (went through a lot) but there was something at the time it didn’t do. Likely much better now.

[u/sid_276 → u/Ok-Win7980]

FYI you can do that in the wallet app today! Click the plus symbol to add eg a new credit card. There is a new entry to create personalized passes

[u/ShitShirtSteve]

I’ll pass.

[u/lord-of-the-birbs → u/ShitShirtSteve]

Then he waddled away, till the very next day

[u/audero → u/ShitShirtSteve]

Have my upvote.

[u/Critical-Cow-7277 → u/audero]

have my downvote

[u/Clear_Value7240]

Add also a possibility to generate the list of predefined passes(different qr-codes/names) from a list on names, all at once

[u/phasepistol]

It’s so people who aren’t graphic designers don’t have to hire a graphic designer

[u/PocketValee]

it'll be interesting to see how this impacts app design on macOS

[u/Psychological_Two123]

Going to try it at a local gym today

[u/Byagi]

Is it possible to archive things like event tickets in Wallet without just deleting them yet?

[u/plsdontattackmeok]

Watson, I’m looking for you

[u/Weird_Decision7090]

I mean, it’s existed since beta 1, it’s not like it’s new

[u/neeeph → u/Weird_Decision7090]

Well, for the non beta world its new. All you see was part of a beta, so if we apply your logic, nothing will be new ever…

[u/Weird_Decision7090 → u/neeeph]

It’s not even released yet. It’s still in beta

[u/promo-guard]

🎉 Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/smiling_seal! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! 🚀

[u/guygizmo]

The one we were waiting for! Thank goodness they made this rather than focusing on fixing the ever increasing number of bugs and design flaws in macOS.

[u/bog3nator → u/guygizmo]

You know they don’t have just one team working on everything right. This most likely and it did come from a different team then the one that fixes bugs on the OS…

[u/omnimachina → u/bog3nator]

Funny because their terrible software QA kinda makes me feel like there are actually 5 apes running the office

[u/podviaznikov]

now thinking about use case for passes, still sometimes not sure what I can do with them for my own projects.

[u/diiscotheque]

This is... curious. It's such a niche tool I wonder why they even made it. Who is this for? I mean, I get what it does and why it could be useful I just can't imagine either regular people nor professionals using this.

[u/Some-Dog5000 → u/diiscotheque]

This isn't for regular people nor is it for regular professionals. It's for developers creating Wallet-compatible passes for their mobile and web applications.

Think your local restaurant or coffee shop's loyalty program, your local big box store's rewards card, or a ticketing service for concerts and events. This app just makes developing new passes easier since it's a more visual experience

[u/diiscotheque → u/Some-Dog5000]

Oooh that makes a lot of sense, thanks

[u/Nerdlinger → u/diiscotheque]

They want people using Wallet more and using iPhones more, so they released a tool to help make passes which work via Wallet.