Apple is adding a “Create a Pass” feature to iOS 27 that lets users generate custom digital passes from any QR code or PDF, bypassing the need for developers to adopt PassKit. The tool, discovered in test versions ahead of WWDC on 8 June, is accessible via the “+” button in Wallet and through the card-addition page. Users can create a pass from scratch or point the iPhone’s camera at a QR code to import it directly.
The three templates
Apple is testing three pass templates:
- Standard (orange): default for any type of pass
- Membership (blue): for recurring-access scenarios like gyms
- Event (purple): for tickets to concerts, matches, and screenings
Each template includes customization tools for styles, images, colors, and text fields, giving users control over the information displayed on each pass.
The gap it fills
PassKit, Apple’s framework for creating Wallet-compatible passes, has been available since iOS 6 in 2012. It supports boarding passes, event tickets, coupons, store cards, and generic passes, and allows developers to update pass content remotely, trigger location-based notifications, and integrate with Apple Pay. Despite being well documented and free to use, the majority of small and mid-sized businesses that issue QR codes for entry, membership, or loyalty have not adopted it after fourteen years. The reasons are mundane: building and maintaining a Wallet pass requires a developer account, a server to host pass updates, and ongoing attention to a feature most businesses consider a minor convenience.
Strategic shift
The “Create a Pass” feature is Apple’s admission that the developer-first strategy has reached its ceiling. By letting users create their own passes from any QR code, Apple is decoupling Wallet’s growth from developer adoption and tying it instead to user behavior. The design is controlled: users are not building arbitrary content but wrapping existing QR codes in Apple-designed templates with defined customization parameters. The three template categories map to the most common use cases that PassKit adoption has failed to serve.
Context in iOS 27
The pass builder is one of several enhancements planned for iOS 27. The headline feature is a revamped Siri, now powered in part by Google’s Gemini models under a multi-year deal reportedly costing Apple around $1 billion per year. Siri will get a dedicated app, a new interface in the Dynamic Island, and text-based conversational capabilities. Apple is also expanding AI features across photo editing with generative tools to extend and reframe images, and introducing a Siri Camera Mode that uses Visual Intelligence to provide real-time information about objects, text, and locations the camera sees. Apple’s $2 billion acquisition of Q