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I have been using this on my 2025 X5... absolutely love it. MyiPhone and Apple Watch work great. get within 10-15 feet of the vehicle and the doors lock, and lock when I walk away.

Zero interaction needed. It's really a beautiful thing

Add to that my August lock on my home entry door and it's a keyless world 😆

Are you notified on the phone or watch about the true status of the locks? I'd be paranoid about confirming that the car is actually locked as I walked away.
 
I'm a bit confused. I've been using digital car keys in Lexus and Tesla vehicles for some years now. These cars even recognized the driver - my spouse also has digital keys. However, these keys don't show up on my wallet app. I just open the vehicle driver's door. Is this Apple implementation a different approach that requires users to hold the phone against a vehicle NFC reader?

My understanding — the earlier versions that you've been using were proprietary to each car maker, whereas Apple Car Keys is based on newly-established industry standards. Lexus and Tesla will likely adopt the new standards eventually.

Or am I wrong and this is just Apple's own proprietary Car Key tech because there isn't yet an industry standard?

 
What a tease. Which “certain” vehicles?
Likely the Polestar 3 (and Polestar 4?), and the Volvo EX30 (and EX90)
NFC? Is that correct? I was under the impression that today's car key functionality was using UWB, so you could keep your phone in your pocket.
It can do both - all cars do NFC, so you can tap your phone or watch (including for a short time after your iPhone goes flat), and some cars also support UWB so you just need to be within close proximity with no need to tap anything.

(For the Volvo EX30 in the lower priced tiers in Australia, it's NFC only. Higher priced trims add UWB in addition to NFC)

Also not all iPhone or Apple Watch models have UWB, so having NFC means it works on 'older' devices too.
I have a Polestar 2, which has a digital key linked to their app. Based on how that performs I would NEVER EVER trust a digital car key for fear of being locked out of my car and stranded.
thankfully this is completely different to the very average (if not downright terrible) implementation of the Polestar app.
 
What is "Tesla's implementation" compared to what's being discussed here? Some of us don't know.
Tesla implements via its app with Bluetooth connection. It works flawlessly, and has been for years. This uses NFC chip in the iPhone. Apple had locked down NFC for years until recently that they are opening up for other purpose.
 
My understanding — the earlier versions that you've been using were proprietary to each car maker, whereas Apple Car Keys is based on newly-established industry standards. Lexus and Tesla will likely adopt the new standards eventually.

Or am I wrong and this is just Apple's own proprietary Car Key tech because there isn't yet an industry standard?

It is an industry standard - so it can also be used with Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet on Android. https://carconnectivity.org/digital-key/
 
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Let's hope it will be retro-fitted in my m/y 2024 XC40
Likewise. I have a 2022 XC40, and both support digital car keys. You can start your car using the Volvo Cars App. Don't know if it can be added to the wallet yet, but I'm sure they'll retrofit.
 
Likewise. I have a 2022 XC40, and both support digital car keys. You can start your car using the Volvo Cars App. Don't know if it can be added to the wallet yet, but I'm sure they'll retrofit.
Unfortunately all XC40/EX40 (and C40/EC40) models lack the required NFC (and bonus UWB) hardware, so it won't be able to get this native / integrated Apple Car Key functionality.

Same with the Polestar 2.


(It's possible they could add Digital Key functionality to the Volvo app just like the Polestar, though the experience is nowhere near as good as this built in Apple Car Key setup)
 
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This is the future -- A solution that is wonderfully complex and filled with security holes for a problem that never existed.
 
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The way these "dumb" digital keys work allow you to use/unlock your vehicle by just opening the driver door (sure, the manufacturer app needs to be running in the background). Apple's implementation requires you to get your phone out and hold it against the vehicle NFC reader? if so the only advantage I could see is if it works when your phone is dead 🤷‍♂️
Apple’s earlier version used NFC only. You tapped to open the door, then tapped inside to start. AFAIK that was BMW only.

But in the new version, they have UWB technology that tells how close your phone is to the car and unlocks automatically, and lets you start and drive, phone in pocket.

The NFC part is a backup now if your phone has no battery, as there is reserve power, though some cars with UWB have omitted NFC so that feature doesn’t necessarily work.

What pagan ritual do I need to perform in order to get this working on my 2019 XC60
You have to do a UWB dance ritual. Just kidding, you’re not getting it, only new ones with the tech built in will get it.
 
The NFC part is a backup now if your phone has no battery, as there is reserve power, though some cars with UWB have omitted NFC so that feature doesn’t necessarily work.
Interesting - which cars?

(As mentioned above, Volvo have NFC as standard on all cars and UWB on higher trims - I didn't know some were ditching NFC altogether)

And some cars are NFC only with no UWB option, like the BYD Seal in Australia (which got Apple Car Key finally in the last few months)
 
Interesting - which cars?

(As mentioned above, Volvo have NFC as standard on all cars and UWB on higher trims - I didn't know some were ditching NFC altogether)
I was thinking of the Hyundai cars (including Genesis and Kia) but I just searched the GV60 as I thought it skipped NFC, turns out Google AI tells me it has NFC and UWB. Might be a Chinese car company which does UWB without NFC, hard to get info on the Chinese cars to be honest.

Unless they made it required to have NFC as a backup but I haven’t heard that it’s strictly required.

Definitely there were cars with NFC and not UWB, made some BMW owners mad when they thought they should be able to start the car with phone in pocket but it wouldn’t let them, they had to tap it to the Qi pad which has an NFC reader near it.
 
I'd love an update on next-gen Carplay. I think they'd stated starting 2024... we're 10 and a half months into the year and I don't think I've seen any vehicle announce support for it?
 
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Unless they made it required to have NFC as a backup but I haven’t heard that it’s strictly required.
Looks like NFC is required for certification, UWB is a nice bonus. https://carconnectivity.org/car-con...ram-for-nfc-digital-car-key-interoperability/

I assume no NFC = not certified.
Definitely there were cars with NFC and not UWB, made some BMW owners mad when they thought they should be able to start the car with phone in pocket but it wouldn’t let them, they had to tap it to the Qi pad which has an NFC reader near it.
Yep, here's the Volvo EX30 manual (which is supposed to be getting Apple Car Key.... eventually.

They call NFC 'Digital key', and UWB 'Digital key plus', hence the difference between active (NFC) and passive (UWB) entry. (and then starting the car)-
 
Are you notified on the phone or watch about the true status of the locks? I'd be paranoid about confirming that the car is actually locked as I walked away.
The watch gives you the little haptic feedback and brings up the wallet card. You don't need to do anything, it just quickly notifies you.

Not sure on phone, it's generally in my pocket or backpack. I'll look next time
 
Been using the digital key with an X5, and the problem is when you need to valet your car because self-parking is full. you can't.
You can leave the physical key in the car and it still locks/unlocks with CarKey. Put it in the little drawer on the left of the steering wheel
 
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I have been using this on my 2025 X5... absolutely love it. MyiPhone and Apple Watch work great. get within 10-15 feet of the vehicle and the doors lock, and lock when I walk away.

Zero interaction needed. It's really a beautiful thing

Add to that my August lock on my home entry door and it's a keyless world 😆

I don't think i could do that even if i had the feature.

I stand next to my car, lock it, watch it light beep; press lock again, watch the light again, then pull the door handle to check if it's locked, then press the lock button again before walking away.
 
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Tesla’s implementation works extremely well. Absolutely flawless and makes old-fashioned car keys/fobs seem very annoying and silly.
Until they let it work with just the Watch and add CarPlay the Tesla is still crap. I can't wait to ditch mine for half of what I paid for it because it's now known how cr*ppy it is. Ugh. Regretful purchase.

Maybe a Tesla Taxi will rub me out. Lol
 
In the middle of a camp site "Error 5204 ; car ignition failed. update app or call Apple for tech support"

Seriously, why do people want everything turned into an app? Somethings are better left to manual operations. From what we have seen apps and devices often have bugs or break or they are no longer updated.
 
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