The government of New South Wales in Australia today announced that the Opal ticketing system now supports Express Mode for Apple Pay payments, allowing the fare card to be added to the Wallet app on a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch for tap-and-go payments across the public transport network.
Express Transit mode allows users to pay for rides without having to wake or unlock their iPhone or Apple Watch, or open the Opal app. The mode also bypasses the need to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode. Users simply need to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the contactless payment reader until a checkmark appears on the display.
Transport for NSW undertook a staggered rollout of Express Mode across the 25,000 card readers on the Opal network, starting with ferries and light rail, then train stations, and then the thousands of Opal readers on buses, which finished this week.
"Commuters in the Hunter, Illawarra, Blue Mountains and everywhere in between will benefit from being the first public transport users in Australia to benefit from the mass roll out of this initiative," said NSW transport minister Jo Haylen. "It will make life so much easier for the almost two million transport passengers who use contactless payments with a digital wallet in NSW."
How to Set Up Express Transit on iPhone
Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap Wallet & Apple Pay.
Tap Express Transit Card.
Tap one of your cards in the list to use it with Express Transit. A tick will appear next to the card you select. The default option is None.
Authenticate your device using Touch ID or Face ID.
If your bank card doesn't support Express Transit, you'll get an error message telling you that the card is incompatible. If no error message appears, you're good to tap-and-go.
How to Set Up Express Transit on Apple Watch
Launch the Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap Wallet & Apple Pay.
Tap Express Transit Card.
Tap one of your cards in the list to use it with Express Transit. A tick will appear next to the card you select. The default option is None.
Authenticate by entering your passcode on your Apple Watch.
If your bank card doesn't support Express Transit, you'll get an error message telling you that the card is incompatible. If no message appears, you're all set.
Wednesday May 28, 2025 11:56 am PDT by Juli Clover
With the design overhaul that's coming this year, Apple plans to rename all of its operating systems, reports Bloomberg. Going forward, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS will be identified by year, rather than by version number. We're not going to be getting iOS 19, we're getting iOS 26.
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iOS 26 will be accompanied by...
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
Sony today provided a closer look at the iPhone rigs used to shoot the upcoming post-apocalyptic British horror movie "28 Years Later" (via IGN).
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Apple's iPhone 17 lineup will include four iPhones, and two of those are going to get all-new display sizes. There's the iPhone 17 Air, which we've heard about several times, but the standard iPhone 17 is also going to have a different display size.
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The next major version of macOS, now dubbed "macOS 26," is rumored to drop support for several older Intel-based Mac models currently compatible with macOS Sequoia.
According to individuals familiar with the matter cited by AppleInsider, the following Macs will not be supported by the next version of macOS:
MacBook Pro (2018)
iMac (2019)
iMac Pro (2017)
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MacB...
With the next-generation version of iOS and other 2025 software updates, Apple is planning to change its numbering scheme. Rather than iOS 19, which would logically follow iOS 18, Apple is instead going to call the update iOS 26. Apple plans to use 26 across all of its platforms (the number representing the upcoming year), which will presumably be less confusing than having iOS 19, macOS 16,...
With iOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and watchOS 26, Apple is planning to debut a new design that's been described as taking inspiration from visionOS, the newest operating system. With WWDC coming up soon, we thought we'd take a closer look at visionOS and some of the design details that Apple might adopt based on current rumors and leaked information.
1. Translucency
Inside Apple, the iOS 26...
The latest rumored specs for the iPhone 17 base model are underwhelming.
In a research note with equity research firm GF Securities this month, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said that the lowest-end iPhone 17 model will be equipped with the same A18 chip that is used in the iPhone 16 base model. The chip will continue to be manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, known as N3E, he...
It's very smart of Apple to do this. They won't make any money from this kind of deal but it eventually locks people into their iPhones further so they can't switch away easily. Use your iPhone as a transit payment method, credit card, driver's license, car key, house key, etc. Suddenly, one day, you depend on your iPhone for pretty much everything and it's impossible to switch.
Luckily, I'm an AAPL shareholder so lock away.
Nope. In NYC, the system works with NFC-enabled credit cards and Android phones with NFC -- as well as the dedicated OMNY card you can buy (with cash, even, for users who don't have access to banks). I'd imagine this Australian system works much the same way, and even just in the article photo you can see the credit card logos above the reader.
So, no, nobody is "locked" into using an Apple device, fortunately. As a transit user and a taxpayer, I'd be rightly pissed if any one company had a monopoly on contactless fares, regardeless of what it means for your stock holdings.
