Apple is looking to expand its support for digital car keys to include new car companies like Volvo, Polestar, and Audi. This expansion will allow more car owners to easily and securely use their iPhones to unlock their vehicles.
Although the company has not officially announced this new support yet, MacRumors, an Apple news site, has discovered evidence of it in the Wallet app integrated into iPhones, which is used to store and manage digital car keys. According to reports, this update will include some car models from Volvo, Polestar, and Audi, not all of them.
To enable this feature, the car must be equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which may not be available in all models. While there is no official launch date for this expanded feature, the appearance of the code indicates that Apple may be close to announcing it.
The feature of digital car keys through the Wallet app allows users to easily unlock and start their cars, with the car being able to recognize the presence of the user’s phone in their pocket and automatically unlock, or the user may need to bring their phone close to the car handle to unlock it. The car can also be remotely locked/unlocked via the phone.
Another available feature is sharing digital car keys with other users, with the ability to stop this sharing at any time through the Wallet app. This feature is available not only for iPhones but also for compatible Apple smartwatches.
Currently, Apple’s digital car key system supports cars from companies like BMW, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Lotus, and Mercedes-Benz, and users can check the supported models on Apple’s official website.
