iPhone car key: Soon available for other vehicles

Apple is expanding support for its NFC and UWB-based car key technology. After Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lotus, Hyundai and BYD, three more brands are now to be added, including another German one. This is evident from code changes in the Wallet app within iOS that Macrumors discovered.

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Audi, but no other VWs

According to the leak, Audi will now also receive the function for the first time. This would be the first brand in the VW Group to support Apple Car Keys. The exact implementation is still unclear, as is which models will actually be usable. Depending on the manufacturer, these could only be particularly expensive vehicles – but BMW now quickly supports the entire fleet down to the 1 Series. It is not yet possible to say whether other VW subsidiaries will follow.

The second brand family with digital car keys from Apple should be Volvo and its electric car sister Polestar. The Swedish-Chinese company has not yet been represented here. Model names have not yet been leaked. The Apple Car Key was first introduced in 2022. Since then, other models have been added, but more slowly than quickly.

Use via iPhone or Apple Watch

The digital car key is always stored in the Apple Wallet and can then be used on the iPhone and Apple Watch. To open the vehicle, all you have to do is approach it with your cell phone or computer watch and hold the device to the reading area – then you can get in and start the vehicle.

Using IDS (Apple Identity Service), the car key can also be shared with other people, such as children or friends. Recently, however, there had been trouble with this “Shared Car Keys” functionality: With BMW models it was now not possible to use shared keys, and users remained standing in front of the car without getting in. The problem also seems to exist in iOS 18.0.1. It is not yet possible to say whether the bug is found on Apple or BMW side. This affects the “Passive Entry” feature, which some manufacturers (like BMW here) integrate to make car key use even more convenient. The main owner of the vehicle continues to come in.

(BSC)