Skip to main content

Car Key

See All Stories

Rivian’s new R1 EVs offer Apple Wallet car key support, Apple Music with Spatial Audio

Rivian today unveiled its second-generation R1S and R1T vehicles, which our friends over at Electrek have covered in-depth. For Apple users, however, there are two new features worth calling out. While Rivian still doesn’t support CarPlay, it has added support for Apple’s car key platform as well as Apple Music with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos.

Expand Expanding Close

DOJ lawsuit misunderstands CarPlay, claiming it too is anticompetitive

DOJ lawsuit misunderstands CarPlay | Extended instrument cluster feature shown

The DOJ lawsuit is 88 pages long, and I freely confess I haven’t yet finished reading it, but it seems one tech writer has – finding a claim that CarPlay is anticompetitive.

As the piece notes, it seems clear that the Department of Justice doesn’t actually understand what CarPlay is, or how it works, as the claim simply makes no sense …

Expand Expanding Close

iOS 16.4 beta hints at Car Key feature dropping NFC support in the future

iOS 16.4 beta hints at Car Key feature dropping NFC support in the future

Car Key was introduced in 2020 with iOS 13.6, and as the name suggests, the feature lets car owners use their iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock the doors and even start the car. Currently, Car Key works with both NFC and Ultra Wideband (UWB) technologies, but Apple may drop support for NFC in the future. This is what the latest beta of iOS 16.4 suggests.

Expand Expanding Close

Apple launches new ‘Car Key Tests’ app for iPhone as adoption lags

Apple’s Car Key feature was originally announced in July 2020 as a way to unlock your car using the Wallet app on your iPhone. The feature, however, has been limited in availability and only recently expanded beyond certain BMW cars.

In what could be a sign of the company ramping up the speed of Car Key adoption, Apple has launched a new “Car Keys Tests” app on the App Store this week.

Expand Expanding Close

Future Car Key breathalyzer feature could refuse to unlock your car if you’re drunk

Site default logo image

Drunk driving kills one person every 52 minutes in the US – which is a good reason for Apple to be exploring a Car Key breathalyzer feature, which would refuse to unlock your car if you’re over the legal alcohol limit.

The US Patent & Trademark Office has today published an Apple patent application for this functionality …

Expand Expanding Close

Ahead of iOS 15, U1 Ultra Wideband support officially comes to the Car Key standard

Car Key

One of the features Apple touted as being included with iOS 15 is expanded support for Car Keys, allowing you to unlock, lock, and start your car without having to take your iPhone out of your pocket. Ahead of iOS 15 launching to the public this fall, the Car Connectivity Consortium has officially published the Digital Key Release 3.0 specification and made it available to members.

Expand Expanding Close

iOS 14 code reveals Apple working with BMW on futuristic ‘CarKey’ iPhone feature

BMW CarKey

9to5Mac reported exclusively in February that Apple is developing a new ‘CarKey’ feature that will let drivers replace physical key fobs with their iPhone. The new virtual key technology was first discovered in a beta version of iOS 13.4.

New evidence in iOS 14 code obtained by 9to5Mac reveals that Apple is working with BMW to likely be the first carmaker to support the futuristic iPhone feature. 9to5Mac received this non-denial statement from BMW when asked about their involvement:

Please understand that at this point we cannot confirm your request nor give you further details. We would like to refer you to our press release.

The informative press release referenced was published in December and refers to BMW’s efforts to adopt a new smartphone and watch Digital Key standard:


Expand
Expanding
Close

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications