How Apple Car Key Works (and Why It Hasn’t Caught on Yet)

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Just as Apple Wallet could make it easier to leave the house without physical credit cards,Apple Car Key could theoretically make it easier to leave the house without car keys. This feature was first introduced back in 2020, but its adoption has been slow to say the least. Here’s a quick overview of how it works and how to set it up.

How to use Apple Car Key

Apple Car Key works on both iPhone and Apple Watch. To set it up, you’ll need to first make sure your car supports the feature (list at the bottom of this post). Unfortunately, even in 2024, only a select few manufacturers have started supporting Apple Car Key, so the list is limited. You’ll also need an iPhone XS or later, iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), or Apple Watch Series 5 or later running the latest operating system.

The exact instructions you need to follow will vary depending on your vehicle, but you essentially need to contact the manufacturer and make sure your account is linked to your vehicle. You can then use the car’s display or the manufacturer’s app to set up the key and add it to the Apple Wallet app. After that, you just need to hold your iPhone or Apple Watch close to the reader, just like you would using Apple Pay.

By default, your Apple Car Key should be added to any Apple Watch you’ve synced to your iPhone. If it’s not, you can add it by going to Wallet & Apple Pay > Add in the Apple Watch app on your phone.

By adding a key to your Apple Wallet, you can take advantage of both passive sign-in and contactless sign-in. Passive entry is a more automated option: it allows your device to unlock or lock your car when you cross a certain distance threshold, and as long as you have your iPhone in the car, you’ll be able to start the engine. Proximity mode works similar to keyless entry: it detects your iPhone when you bring it close to the door and then unlocks the car. You will then need to bring your iPhone or Apple Watch close to the car reader so that you can start the car. With Apple Car Key, you can also easily share your car keys with others, which can be useful for large families who share a car, or for giving temporary access to someone looking after the house, for example.

Another handy feature of Apple Car Key is that your iPhone will still work as a car key even if it needs to be charged. This feature requires you to use Express Mode, which does not require TouchID or other biometrics/security measures to unlock access to your keys. It’s a little unsafe, given that anyone could take over your phone and access your keys, but Apple says it can work as long as you turn it on at least five hours in advance. You can see which cards and keys are available when your iPhone needs to charge by pressing the power button.

But what happens when all the power is exhausted? Well, according to an interview with The Verge , your phone should always work like your car key. It may not be as reliable, meaning you may have to hold it to the handle a couple of times, but it should always work. This is because when the reserve gets low enough, it switches to NFC to make those connections. NFC chips don’t require any power supply, so technically they should work even if the phone isn’t working. However, if you turn off your phone, Apple will tell you that Car Key won’t work at all.

What cars support Apple Car Key?

As I noted above, there are still a few cars that do support Apple Car Key. You will need to contact the manufacturer to check if your vehicle supports this feature. However, some users were able to compile lists of all the cars that are currently known to support Apple Car Key:

  • 2021–2023 BMW 1 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 2 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 3 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 4 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 5 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 6 Series

  • 2021–2023 BMW 8 Series

  • 2021 – 2023 BMW X5

  • 2021 – 2023 BMW X6

  • 2021 – 2023 BMW X7

  • 2021 – 2023 BMW X5 M

  • 2021 – 2023 BMW X6 M

  • 2021–2023 BMW Z4

  • 2022 – 2023 BMW i4

  • 2022 – 2023 BMW IX

  • 2022–2023 BMW iX1

  • 2022–2023 BMW iX3

  • 2023 BMW i3

  • 2023 BMW i7

  • 2024 BMW i5

  • 2022–2023 BID KHAN

  • 2023 Genesis GV60

  • 2023 Genesis G90

  • 2023 Hyundai Palisade

  • Hyundai IONIC 6 2023

  • Hyundai Kona 2024 electric car

  • 2023 Kia Telluride

  • 2023 Kia Niro

  • 2024 Kia ​​Seltos

  • 2024 Kia ​​EV9

  • Lotus Emea EV

  • Mercedes-Benz E-Class 2024

Why is there so little support?

It may seem strange that Apple Car Key technology has been around for four years and is supported by fewer than 150 car models. Well, there’s a good reason for this. While having your car key on your iPhone may seem good on paper, there are many factors to consider, such as digital security.

The problem here is that hackers could theoretically gain access to anything that is digital. Sure, we have different levels of encryption, and Apple offers some of the strongest encryption systems you’ll find on a smartphone, but at the end of the day, none of our cybersecurity systems are completely foolproof, and attackers are always looking for new ones. methods of penetration. So, even if a system is designed to be secure, hackers can find a way in by giving them access to your car key. Even some of the most well-known car manufacturers that have used digital keys, such as Tesla, have decided to also offer physical key fobs simply because they are less susceptible to hacking, and sometimes apps that power phone-as-key systems. it just doesn’t always work correctly. Of course, someone can still steal your physical key fob, but that requires physical interaction rather than hacking into your phone remotely and gaining access to your keys.

There’s also the fact that Apple and other companies trying to promote these digital keys still haven’t come up with any kind of standardization. Cars use different technologies depending on the manufacturer, which means you need to create a system that is both secure and capable of working with many different types of hardware and software configurations, or get every manufacturer in the world to do so. agree on a unique technological installation. It’s a massive undertaking, and given how much trouble we’ve had trying to get smartphone makers around the world to agree on standard benchmarks, it’s unlikely that it’ll happen to car makers (of which there are many more) anytime soon. from). That doesn’t mean it’s impossible, it’ll just be a lot longer before it happens, just like it takes a long time for electric car makers to agree on a standard charging setup.

Ultimately, the world is simply not ready to overcome all the obstacles that Apple Car Key and Digital Keys pose, both from a technical and consumer perspective, and that is why we are not yet seeing them fully adopted by all car manufacturers. Concerns about cybersecurity as well as technical obstacles continue to be at the forefront of this technology. It’s possible that in another four years more cars will come out under the Apple Car Key umbrella, or perhaps we’ll see manufacturers ditch digital keys altogether and look to other methods (this is unlikely, but it could always happen if technology stagnates enough that unlikely as Apple and others consider this a “growth” technology). However, for now, Apple Car Key will have to make do with a much smaller number of supported vehicles. At least for a little while longer.

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