iPhone and Apple smart watch users can soon unlock their cars using them. Apple has started providing this feature with IOS 14 and BMW new series cars already have ‘Key less entry’ feature paired with iPhone ‘Car key’.
The ‘Car key’ uses NFC(Near Field Communication) to start and unlock a car which is essentially a paired with a digital key. The difference between android phones and Apples ‘Car Key’ is that the digital key is embedded directly to the phones Operating System giving depth to many of the features.
Apple says the digital car keys work with no network connection, so in theory, you’ll still be able to lock your car even in the depths of a parking garage. The keys are also supposed to work “for up to 5 hours” after your iPhone’s battery has run out and flipped into a “power reserve” mode, which will hopefully alleviate some anxiety about not being able to access your car after being away from a charger for awhile.
Apple’s reliance on NFC for their digital car keys suggests that the feature could be using the Car Connectivity Consortium’s Digital Key Release 2.0 specification, which was finalized in May. The specification “leverages Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for contactless communication between smartphones and vehicles, and supports a scalable architecture for mass adoption while reducing costs.”
The Ultra Wide Band technology incorporating Digital Key Release 3.0 is currently under development which enables unlocking your car while your iPhone stays in your bag or pocket. But for now automakers will need to provide NFC tags, and you’ll need to tap them to the car to unlock it.
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