Volvo EX90 and EX30 Models Now Support Apple Car Keys

[MacRumors]

Volvo has released software updates for its EX90 and EX30 electric SUV models that enable support for Apple's Car Keys feature that's available on iPhones and Apple Watches.

Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

A tap on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock, and while Face ID authentication is a security option, Apple offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for a faster unlocking process. Volvo has setup instructions for Apple Car Keys on its website.

Apple introduced ‌Car Keys‌ in 2022, and car manufacturers like BMW, Rivian, Kia, Audi, and Hyundai have all implemented support for ‌Car Keys‌. Apple maintains a full list of vehicles that support ‌Car Keys‌ on its CarPlay model availability webpage.

Article Link: Volvo EX90 and EX30 Models Now Support Apple Car Keys

 

[orbital~debris]

Fabulous news!

 

[Robert.Walter]

Oh Ford, when you?

CEO Farley’s mandate to his teammates is “no boring cars!”, so how about no boring non Car Keys entry system?

 

[Jeaz]

Nice, I would assume this will expand to the upcoming ES90 as well, which I'm eyeing as a potential next car.

The details are not super clear, but from what I understand this is the version which you don't to actually take out of your pocket, which is really nice. The BMW i4 that I have now, you need to press your phone next to the locks.

 

[Digital Dude]

Sidebar: I think that SUV looks hideous!🥴

 

[orbital~debris]

Sidebar: I think that SUV looks hideous!🥴

Counterpoint: I rather like it, and am considering buying one (or an EX40) – it's an EX30, Volvo's smallest SUV.

 

[rikki_t]

Wonder if these Chinese vehicles send all their telemetry dater to Bytedance servers ?

 

[Nozuka]

A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

The cars have UWB. You don't need to hold the iPhone to the NFC reader.

(Unless you buy the iPhone 16e...)

 

[canadianreader]

Interesting that most SUVs these days look the same

 

[baconcat_8964]

Wonder if these Chinese vehicles send all their telemetry dater to Bytedance servers ?

I found this on Volvo UK website:

As an international company we share your personal data with group companies, subcontractors, and business partners worldwide, specifically we transfer personal data to India and Turkey for IT-support, the United States for hosting services, IT-support and customer service.

 

[Powerbooky]

Wonder if these Chinese vehicles send all their telemetry dater to Bytedance servers ?

Don't wonder. They will, like all other Chinese devices will.

I'd rather have a car with a normal key and no cellular data connection.

 

[ignatius345]

Counterpoint: I rather like it, and am considering buying one (or an EX40) – it's an EX30, Volvo's smallest SUV.

I was curious about the EX30 when I first started reading about it, but the interior seems to have almost no physical switches. Definitely a dealbreaker for me to have to use a touchscreen for climate controls and the like.

 

[3goldens]

So this only lets you into the car it doesn’t start the car right. What’s the point if you need the fob anyway?

 

[Iconoclysm]

Nice, I would assume this will expand to the upcoming ES90 as well, which I'm eyeing as a potential next car.

The details are not super clear, but from what I understand this is the version which you don't to actually take out of your pocket, which is really nice. The BMW i4 that I have now, you need to press your phone next to the locks.

It will be in the ES90, absolutely. I'm an EX90 owner, and I feel like a guinea pig for the future ES90 owners.

 

[Iconoclysm]

So this only lets you into the car it doesn’t start the car right. What’s the point if you need the fob anyway?

It also starts the car, and you don't need to have ever opened an app or looked at your phone. The car knows if the key is inside or outside of the car as well, like with a fob. In fact, I don't carry anything now but my phone...and if I don't have that, my watch also works.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Wonder if these Chinese vehicles send all their telemetry dater to Bytedance servers ?

These are not Chinese vehicles. They have Chinese backers for a Swedish company that manufactures the cars in South Carolina. Were Volvos American cars when Ford owned them? Do you think Ford is secretly working with China since they sold Volvo to China?

 

[orbital~debris]

I was curious about the EX30 when I first started reading about it, but the interior seems to have almost no physical switches. Definitely a dealbreaker for me to have to use a touchscreen for climate controls and the like.

Indeed, there are very few physical controls. Seemed OK from the test drive. The voice assistant can make adjustments for you, but most things – if you're driving with an old-school sensibility – are best set before you move away, anyway.

 

[Szymon Sikora]

Excited to see this coming out! I love my XC40 but have been eyeing the EX90 for its tech and family-friendly features, especially the LiDAR, 3D Camera, and added creature comforts. Not impressed by the EX30 though - it feels rushed, and the rear seat room is... a joke.

 

[TechTexan]

So this only lets you into the car it doesn’t start the car right. What’s the point if you need the fob anyway?

I have this on my Hyundai Santa Fe and I don’t need the fob. It unlocks and starts the car. Note however… it can be a pain with auto tailgates that open. Simply walking by with my phone in my pocket will unlock and open the tailgate if I stand to close to it.

 

[Cuesca]

These ICE conversion cars are never good, what's crazy is that Volvo(or Geely) has a pure EV(Polestar) platform that they are not utilizing.

 

[Neart]

Tesla’s own version of this works really well for the most part… but I really wish they’d include the Apple Car Key feature too instead of needing the physical card sometimes.

 

[mannyvel]

The phone keys are great until you need to valet park your car. This happened at a hospital last year, and wow it was unbelievably aggravating.

Not an issue 99.9999% of the time, of course.

On the good side I accidentally flew home with the BMW key in my pocket, and my sister used her phone key to operate the car until I mailed the real key back.

 

[ignatius345]

Indeed, there are very few physical controls. Seemed OK from the test drive. The voice assistant can make adjustments for you, but most things – if you're driving with an old-school sensibility – are best set before you move away, anyway.

Yeah, super hard pass on all that. Like many people I actually tend to change stuff like AC and heat and media volume while driving -- all of which is a piece of cake with normal buttons and switches.

 

[patjem]

These are not Chinese vehicles. They have Chinese backers for a Swedish company that manufactures the cars in South Carolina. Were Volvos American cars when Ford owned them? Do you think Ford is secretly working with China since they sold Volvo to China?

When I picked-up my EX30 4 weeks ago in the Netherlands there were Chinese stickers on the windows and "Port of Shanghai". I don't think they don't come from China.

And for Car Key. I had it activated last Friday. And overnight my car did not open anymore. Did not react to the normal keys, like the car was frozen due to the new 1.5.2 software.

 

[Keymaster]

These ICE conversion cars are never good, what's crazy is that Volvo(or Geely) has a pure EV(Polestar) platform that they are not utilizing.

The EX30 is an electric car from the ground up, there's no ICE version of it and it's not a conversion of another vehicle. It looks like other small SUVs because that's what people expect, really funky cars don't tend to sell all that well, and because it's in line with the Volvo design language. And, the Polestar 7 will be a version of the EX30, since Volvo and Polestar share platforms and technology.