The Future of Car Access: Apple’s CarKey Expansion
Ah, the sweet sound of progress! Who needs a physical key anymore? In a trend that’s taken the world by storm—quicker than a cat burglar in a room full of laser beams—Apple is expanding its CarKey feature. Yes, folks, soon you’ll be able to unlock your car with your iPhone or Apple Watch, making your life just that little bit easier! And let’s be honest, what’s more thrilling than not having to reach into your pocket like a medieval peasant fumbling for a key? Talk about direct access!
Welcome to the Digital Age!
So, the word on the street—well, it’s more of a buzz on the web—is that Audi, Volvo, and Polestar are next in line to join the CarKey party. That’s right! It’s like an exclusive VIP section, but for your car keys. Who wouldn’t want to stroll up, whip out their iPhone like it’s a rare Pokémon, and poof—your car is responding like it’s trained, ready to be started with just a tap? You can practically hear it say, “Where have you been all my life?”
The Simplicity of It All
Now, don’t get too excited just yet! While it’s all very high-tech, remember that the functionality depends on the vehicle. The magic lies in the NFC chip (that’s Near Field Communication for you non-techies out there), which allows your iPhone or Apple Watch to communicate with your car almost intuitively. You simply save the digital key in your wallet app—yes, it’s that simple. Finally, a reason to open your wallet that doesn’t involve spending money—how revolutionary!
Now, for some context: CarKey was first unveiled about four years ago, mainly partnered with BMW. Isn’t it fun to think BMW was the cool kid in school while others just tried to eat their lunch without being noticed? But now, as technology has advanced faster than a toddler on a sugar high, brands like BYD, Hyundai, Lotus, and even Mercedes-Benz have jumped on board. Talk about a car key revolution!
Where to Find the List of Supported Cars
While build excitement about tech-savvy driving is infectious, it’s worth pointing out that not every car is part of this *key* revolution. For a complete list of supported vehicles, you can hop over to Apple’s dedicated CarPlay page. Ah yes, the alphabetized list of glory, divided by brand! Because if there’s one thing we all crave, it’s a nice, tidy list of cars that we can mentally compare while sipping our overpriced lattes.
What’s Next for CarKey?
So, get ready! The future of car access is unlocking (pun fully intended), and with CarKey, the humble car key may just become a relic of the past. Just think—one day we’ll sit back, sipping our lattes, laughing at how we ever survived using metal keys. “What did we do before digital keys? Were we barbaric?” our grandkids will ask. And we’ll simply reply: “Yes, yes we were.”
As we wait for this brave new world of car technology, remember to keep an eye on that wallet. After all, in the digital age, our phones are just a ring away from becoming the keys to our transportation kingdom!
The Apple team is currently working to expand support for the feature CarKey to vehicles from other manufacturers: according to the latest rumors that have emerged, soon also the digital keys of certain models Audi, Volvo e Polestar they can be saved in the wallet available on iPhone and Apple Watch.
The information in question is not yet official, but has been identified by the team MacRumors in changes in the backend code of Apple’s Wallet app. The more attentive of you will perhaps remember that the CarKey function was presented by the Cupertino giant four years ago, with BMW cars leading the way, followed by other relevant brands such as BYD, Hyundai/Genesis/Kia, Lotus and Mercedes-Benz and the launch of a dedicated test app.
Operation is simple and intuitive: the CarKey function uses the NFC chip and therefore can be used on both iPhone and Apple Watch: once the digital key of your car has been saved in the wallet, the user can open it, close it and start the engine simply by bringing the Apple device close to the car’s NFC reader.
Of course, the availability of the feature in question depends on the support of the specific brand and model. As mentioned, the next manufacturers that should soon allow customers to open/close the car with the iPhone and the Apple Watch are Audi, Volvo and Polestar. For the complete list of cars supported by the service, you can refer to Apple website page dedicated to CarPlay: here you can read a list in alphabetical order – divided by brand – of the cars that work with CarPlay, with a small key that distinguishes those already supported by CarKey.
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