If you have recurring nightmares about holding up the line of commuters trying to tap on at the train station because your bitch-ass iPhone has decided to act like a stranger and not recognise you, then “Express Mode”, a new feature in the latest iOS update, is for you.
I spend what feels like 18,000 hours frantically manually unlocking my iPhone via passcode when I tap off at Central Station every morn because a) I forget my sunglasses are still on my face or b) my iPhone just hates me.
Either way, it is a fkn pain in the ass for me, as I imagine it is for everyone who doesn’t want to accidentally get in the way of other people trying to get to work.
Luckily, the folks over at Apple have heard our pleas and created a way for you to tap on in NSW if you’re using the train, light rail, bus or ferry network without unlocking or awakening your device by using Express Mode.
Once this feature is enabled, you can just boop the Opal reader with your phone, no need to give it a peek at your face or anything like that, and voila! You’re in.
You can turn Express Mode on in your Wallet & Apple Pay settings under the “Express Transit Card” bit. Once you click on it, you’ll have the option of making one of your payment cards the default card that taps on if your phone is near a censor. Sadly, we still can’t add Opal cards, though.
The Express Transit Card feature works automatically, and will still function if your phone is on Power Reserve and needs to be charged.
You’ll need iOS 16.4 or later (watchOS 9.4 if you use an Apple Watch), and rest assured, all the same privacy and security levels apply — meaning Apple won’t be creepy and track your transit.
Sunglasses ON. Social anxiety OFF. Go forth and travel freely folks.
Image: Getty Images / Lisa Maree Williams
