You'll Soon Be Able to Use Your Phone as a Car Key

By Jamie Shore - August 11, 2020

Our lives can feel pretty cluttered with the number of devices we carry around, but soon one thing will be a thing of the past, the car key. Apple announced recently that it is working on making its iPhones capable of opening and starting your car.

You’ll Soon Be Able to Use Your Phone as a Car Key

A Digital Key Solution

While unlocking a car with a phone app isn’t an entirely new idea, Apple is teaming up with BMW to make people’s lives easier. The digital key solution is coming to users of iOS 13 and will be included in the updated iOS14. For now, the only car this feature will work with is the 2021 BMW 5-series, but more vehicles are expected to be added.

Added Features

The digital key will be stored in Apple’s Wallet app, and access to the key can be shared with up to five different people. The access will be shared using the iMessage app, with full or restricted-access options available. The restricted access feature can limit the speed a driver can go, reduce the horsepower available, and even restrict the radio volume. It’s an ideal solution when the car is being shared with teenagers.

You’ll Soon Be Able to Use Your Phone as a Car Key

Running Out of Battery

You might fear getting stranded if your phone runs out of battery, but that won’t be the case. Even if you run out of battery, the key function will work on a special reserve for up to five hours after the phone turns itself off. You can also turn off the function using iCloud if your phone goes missing or is stolen. The feature is expected to be rolled out in July for those Apple customers who also drive a BMW.

You won’t have to fumble around looking for your car key any longer, instead, you can just whip out your phone. Apple and BMW are teaming up, but the tech giant is hoping to work with other car manufacturers in the future.