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Digital Car Key and Ultra Wideband Groups Team Up for Future Apple Car Keys Improvements

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The way vehicles take advantage of new connectivity standards could be improving in the near future, leading to updates on how smartphones like the iPhone control cars.

bmw-car-key-photo.jpg

This month, the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) and the FiRa Consortium that oversees the development of the Ultra-wideband (UWB) standard, announced a partnership for the future development of UWB features used for the CCC Digital Key function.

Apple is a member of both the CCC and FiRa. The CCC's Digital Key specification has been adopted by Apple for its Car Keys feature that allows the iPhone and the Apple Watch to unlock compatible vehicles over NFC. Select BMW, Kia, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Genesis vehicles work with Car Keys, but Apple undoubtedly wants to expand adoption.

The CCC and FiRa Consortiums will work together to "develop and maintain" the UWB technology specifications used for the Digital Key standard that serves as the basis for Car Keys on Apple devices. Apple engineer Jinjing Jiang will oversee the joint effort.

The partnership is expected to encourage broader adoption of UWB technology use in vehicles. As of now, UWB is used for the Digital Key standard to relay how close a user is to their vehicle, allowing a smartphone or wearable to be used for vehicle access or to start the car when at the appropriate range.

Apple uses UWB for the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirTag. UWB enables more precise location awareness and it powers features like Precision Finding for the AirTag.

Along with Apple, CCC members include most vehicle manufacturers like Ford, BMW, GM, Honda, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and more, while FiRa members include Apple, Google, Qualcomm, Cisco, Samsung, NXP, and more.

Article Link: Digital Car Key and Ultra Wideband Groups Team Up for Future Apple Car Keys Improvements
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/11/16/digital-car-key-ultra-wideband-improvements/
Will this mean more widespread support or more clogs to the system. I really hope it’s the former 🙃
 
While that is all good and great, I never have to use my key fob to open/lock nor to start either of our current cars, and neither on their predecessors ...
And then I read that BMW wireless charging breaks the NFC chip and wireless charging is not working in GM cars all with the latest and greatest iPhone models ...
 
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FSMBP said:
I can't wait for this to be standard....The dream of leaving the house with just my Apple Watch to unlock my car (obviously, having a backup keycard like Tesla's).

I just hate keys!!!
Click to expand...
My VW has the bulkiest heaviest key fob. I always notice it in my pocket. And if I clip it to my belt loop it swings around like mad. I hate it!

I’ll take a key card temporarily, but mostly so I can give it to a friend or valet if needed. Eventually I wanna lose that too when everything is standard and I can give anyone temporary access to my car as long as they have a phone.
 
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FSMBP said:
I can't wait for this to be standard....The dream of leaving the house with just my Apple Watch to unlock my car (obviously, having a backup keycard like Tesla's).

I just hate keys!!!
Click to expand...
Same - I leave my wallet in my car, and can't wait to only have to carry my phone.

I told my wife I was thinking about getting a small clip for my key fob to put on the back of my belt, inconspicuous so I had a little in my pockets as possible.

She replied "Wow, your 40s are really hitting hard aren't they?!" 😅
 
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I hope this will be enabled on the watch. Otherwise a no go for me with havingt to remove my phone from my pocket.
 
jz0309 said:
and when I look at the photo in the article, holding an iPhone near the door handle - I prefer that bulky key fob in my pocket
Click to expand...
Agree. I enabled phone access on my car more as a backup than anything else. My current fob is lighter than on my last car so that’s what I use. Put my hand in the door handle and it unlocks. Pretty simple.
 
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mKizzo said:
Actually no; I have it on my BMW and you need to very close to the handle. NFC type distance.
Click to expand...
Hmm but that might be different from this UWB standard maybe

Edit- what technology are these proximity sensing key fobs using, anyone know?
 
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This would be a welcome upgrade. When I use Apple Car Key to unlock my Telluride X-Pro, I have to hold it near a pretty specific location on my door handle for it to work. I wish it was less finicky, or maybe I'm still figuring it out since I only got it a few months back. Proximity unlocking for the trunk when your hands are full, like it currently does with my fob but with an iPhone would be a welcome upgrade. It would also be nice if you could set it to automatically turn on your car and start connecting wireless CarPlay, log the user into the car so their presets and seat is set as soon as they get in, etc. Another great use for proximity would be to automatically lock the car when you move more than 15ft away from it, and have an option to not auto lock the car if it's at home in your garage.

jz0309 said:
and when I look at the photo in the article, holding an iPhone near the door handle - I prefer that bulky key fob in my pocket
Click to expand...
I hate having a bulky key fob! The one on my Telluride is about twice as big as the one that came with my old Outback. It's a freaking unit and does not fit well in my pocket. I wish I could just buy a simple fob without all of the remote start stuff and window controls since I already have an app to control all of that stuff anyway and is more fine tuned in setting the climate, heated/cooled seats, etc.
 
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this would be a great Apple Car feature. sad Tesla won't integrate it
 
I just got a 83,000 dollar Toyota. This is one of the few things that are missing. All the manufacturers need to do this on every one of their cars.
 
I picked up a '23 BMW X1 in January. It has the latest version of the Digital Key Plus with UWB support. I just walk up to the car and it unlocks when I'm within 6-10 feet, same with walking away. I can just get in the car and start it, just like with having the fob in my pocket. It's really convenient, especially being able to share and revoke keys through text, and being able to use Siri to unlock the car; and quick access through the wallet app is nice too. Really handy when just using my Apple Watch Ultra as well, no longer need to carry keys when going to the beach. Should the digital key not work, or if my phone/watch died beyond the reserve power, I still have the NFC key card in my wallet as a backup.
 
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So now thieves won't have to scour the area in the early hours with bulky key scanners anymore; it can all be done with a workaround iPhone app. That's progress for you. Keyless entry is a ridiculous idea in the first place. They'll have self-driving cars next... 🙄
 
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