Finally, the Navigo card is coming to iPhone and Apple Watch: here’s everything you need to know about how it works

Apple and Île-de-France Mobilités formalized on Tuesday the transformation of iPhones and Apple Watches into the Navigo pass. A practical change in every sense of the word, for travelers and subscribers.

It was with an iPhone in hand that the president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, presented, Tuesday May 21, 2024, a new feature that everyone was waiting for: the possibility of adding the Navigo pass to your smartphone at the apple or on your Apple Watch. A promise come true. Clubic shows you and explains how it is now possible to travel contactless in Ile-de-France transport.

What’s new for the Navigo card?

Now, Navigo pass holders can add their card to Apple’s Maps app. Failing that, they can pass their iPhone or Apple Watch right over a validating machine to take their bus, metro and other means of transport in the region.

• In summary, Apple and Île-de-France Mobilités have just made it possible to purchase a Navigo card in the Maps app and to purchase a transport ticket with your device.

• You can purchase a transport ticket from the Île-de-France Mobilités application, in its iOS version, or from the Apple Maps app. To do this, you will already need to use Apple Pay. The Île-de-France Mobilités app will be mandatory for the purchase of “packages” or special tickets.

Concretely, users who have registered a Navigo card in their Maps application will no longer be obliged to buy a ticket at a physical machine, nor to reload their pass, whether at a machine, in a ticket office or in a store.

Valérie Pécresse indicated, during her speech this afternoon, that the process had taken a long time to finalize, mentioning “ the requirement » of each party. But we must admit that this change could well simplify the lives of thousands of Ile-de-France residents and tourists who will come to attend the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

The Navigo pass on the iPhone, how it works

Once the Maps application is open, you must press the “More” button at the top right, then go to “Transport card”, choose “France”, and add your Navigo card. It is then possible to purchase different tickets, such as t+ tickets, reduced rate t+, RoissyBus, OrlyBus and even Navigo Jour passes. Note that it is obviously possible to accumulate Navigo titles in the Maps application, which should satisfy the most foresighted.

Thanks to Apple Pay, it is possible to validate the purchase in a flash using facial recognition, and your tickets are found directly on the iPhone, in the Cards application, in just a few seconds. By adding the Navigo card in “express mode”, via the settings, all you have to do is swipe your phone over the terminal, even when it is locked.

We draw your attention to a detail which is important. It is in fact not possible to transfer the Navigo pass from a physical card to the phone. In other words, if you already have a subscription via a physical Navigo card, it cannot be transferred to the iPhone. A limitation for the time being imposed by Île-de-France Mobilités.

The list of compatible iPhones and Apple Watches

All iPhones, from the XS model, and Apple Watches, from Series 6 onwards, can therefore be transformed into a Navigo pass, provided they have downloaded version 17.5 of iOS. The Cupertino manufacturer becomes the third player, after Samsung and Android mobiles, to make this possible.

Change in Apple’s Maps application, which welcomes a new update

Apple tells us that starting this week, the Apple Maps application will offer real-time traffic information in Paris. The American firm was keen to help users better plan their journeys through the capital. This real-time information will concern RATP buses as well as the tramway, RER, metro and other transport in the region.

Thanks to this update, users will be able to know detailed transport schedules at any time, but also departure and arrival times, always in real time. The same goes for the available connections, which will help you better navigate the vast network. Interruptions and delays will also be reported.