Apple made a slew of announcements at its annual World Wide Developers Conference on Monday, which was moved online like so many other events because of the pandemic. Buried amongst all the tech news was something quite interesting for the automobile world. Apple will soon let you unlock and start your vehicle using an iPhone or an Apple Watch. The digital key solution demoed at the WWDC is all set to be introduced next month on iOS 13 and will be a key feature (pun intended) of the upcoming iOS 14. The first automaker to partner with Apple on this feature will be BMW and the owners of the new 5 Series will be able to use this from July. Apple is working with industry groups to bring the feature to more cars in 2021.
Using the digital key feature by Apple, the users will not only be able to lock/unlock the doors and start their vehicle but also share it with five others via Apple’s iMessage. The owner of the car can grant full access or provide a restricted driving profile for the shared key that can be used to control top speed, horsepower, maximum radio volume, and other features. The digital key app will reside inside the iPhone Wallet. The feature uses a short-range wireless technology known as near-field communication (NFC) to function and the users can simply tap the vehicle with their iPhone to gain access. And in case if you’re thinking what happens when the phone runs out of battery, Apple says the key will still function for up to five hours after the iPhone turns off due to a low battery. If your phone is stolen or goes missing, access to the vehicle can be easily revoked via Apple’s cloud service, iCloud.
[Via: Acquire Mag]
