Use a smart card on iPhone and iPad
For devices with iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.1, or later, support for PIV smart cards and CCID-compliant readers.
The default method of smart card usage in iOS and iPadOS is to first unlock the device using a passcode or biometric (Face ID or Touch ID), and then plug in a smart card reader and PIV-compatible smart card. The user can then leverage the smart card for authentication to supported web services, PIV-enabled apps, and signing and encrypting of email in the Mail app. Because the user is already using a passcode to unlock a hardware-backed login token stored in the Secure Enclave for device authentication, smart card login is unnecessary and isn’t supported.
Administrators should contact the manufacturer of their CCID reader to help ensure that the reader can be used on devices with iOS 16 and iPadOS 16.1, or later, without third-party software.