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Rivian Releases Apple Watch App

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As expected, electric vehicle maker Rivian today released an Apple Watch app, providing R1S and R1T drivers with convenient features on their wrist.

Rivian-Introduces-Apple-Watch-App-Feature.jpg

The app lets you choose up to four one-tap controls for locking or unlocking doors, opening or closing the windows, opening the front or rear trunks, sounding the vehicle's alarm, and more. In addition, you can turn the Apple Watch's Digital Crown to adjust the vehicle's cabin temperature and battery charging target in the app.

Rivian also offers an Apple Watch complication, allowing you to view the vehicle's charge level at a glance on your watch face.

Rivian recently rolled out Apple Wallet car key support for its second-generation R1S and R1T vehicles. This feature utilizes Ultra Wideband technology, allowing you to simply approach the vehicle, open the door, and start the vehicle, all with your iPhone in your pocket or bag or your Apple Watch on your wrist.

Rivian-iPhone-Car-Keys-in-Apple-Wallet-Feature.jpg

Passive entry functionality requires an iPhone 11 or newer (excluding iPhone SE and iPhone 16e models) or an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer.

If you have a first-generation R1S or R1T model, digital key functionality is a bit more limited. You can lock or unlock the vehicle with a tap of the "lock" button in the app. "With the app open, you're ready to drive," says Rivian, for these models.

To get the Apple Watch app, head to the App Store and install the latest version of the Rivian app for the iPhone, and it will extend to the Apple Watch.

Article Link: Rivian Releases Apple Watch App
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/02/19/rivian-introduces-apple-watch-app/
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Have an R2 on order and am super excited. In the lead-up to pricing/options on March 12, I went to test drive a R1S earlier this week. Liked the feel/quality, but didn't like the ride quality (it pitched too much forward and backward in just normal driving). However, everything I've read says that the R2 is much better in this regard.
 
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ClaraStahlbaum said:
Are people really so lazy that they need an app to open and close a car door for you?
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They said unlock/lock. Not physically open/close the door... unless I'm missing something?

My car is parked outside. My kid says that they left their phone in the car. With my Tesla, I open the smartphone app (or my watch app) to unlock the car, and he can get in.
 
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Apple should've just purchased Steve-O's company, I mean RJ's company instead of wasting money trying to build an Apple car from scratch.
 
ForkHandles said:
I have a polestar. When I walk up to it wearing my Apple Watch it unlocks and lets me drive away.

When I walk away it locks the car.

No App necessary, it does it all using Wallet behind the scenes.

Rivian is not starting a revolution here.
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Tell me you didn't read the article without telling me you didn't read the article 🤣 Rivian already supports what you stated using UWB and the Apple Wallet.

All this Apple Watch app does is let you perform vehicle functions you could already do on the smartphone app from your wrist. No one said they were starting a revolution. It's just a simple feature-add.
 
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Diopter said:
What Rivian owners actually want: CarPlay.
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As I pointed out in this comment, https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ue.2477759/page-2?post=34433442#post-34433442
putting CarPlay on an auto with any sort of autonomous driving (at some level) is not trivial, and can't really be done until Apple makes some changes on their end.

The good news is that it feels like everyone in this space (both Apple and a few autonomous vehicle makers) is finally on board to think about the issue and make some progress.
 
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ForkHandles said:
I have a polestar. When I walk up to it wearing my Apple Watch it unlocks and lets me drive away.

When I walk away it locks the car.

No App necessary, it does it all using Wallet behind the scenes.

Rivian is not starting a revolution here.
Click to expand...
This is not as much about YOU as about other people.
eg you and friend are at the mall and split up, friend calls you and wants to get into the car while you're still shopping...
 
Rivian vehicles have been auto locking and unlocking for years as you approach… via the Rivian app itself.
 
name99 said:
As I pointed out in this comment, https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...ue.2477759/page-2?post=34433442#post-34433442
putting CarPlay on an auto with any sort of autonomous driving (at some level) is not trivial, and can't really be done until Apple makes some changes on their end.

The good news is that it feels like everyone in this space (both Apple and a few autonomous vehicle makers) is finally on board to think about the issue and make some progress.
Click to expand...
You don't need that, per se, you just have the limitation that you can't do full self-driving if you are navigating via Apple Maps or other Carplay maps app. You're only self-driving on the built in car's maps.

Carplay not being designed for some scenario doesn't mean it's not possible to include it.

I would agree it's ideal that they work together but not that it's strictly necessary. Carplay would work on Rivian the way it works for everyone else.

Similarly, Carplay doesn't work with all car features either, unless it's Carplay Ultra which is very deeply integrated but only exists on Aston Martin. But outside of Ultra, Carplay often doesn't support driver displays, heads-up displays, and it's often not integrated with EV routing features either (not necessarily Apple's fault in these because Apple does support 2nd screens, and they do support EV routing features, it's up to the car maker to build in Apple's support of these features). Still, many cars still have Carplay and many owners still use Carplay even with its limitations.
 
As a Rivian owner not having carplay bothered me in the beginning but now I could care less. Several car makers are walking away from carplay so the rest of us need to start to accept it.

The app just replaces your phone when it comes to access to the vehicle and things like that. So if you go for a swim you don't need your phone to get back in your vehicle.
 
lefkonj said:
As a Rivian owner not having carplay bothered me in the beginning but now I could care less. Several car makers are walking away from carplay so the rest of us need to start to accept it.
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Seems to be only GM has walked away from Carplay.

Some others did seem to walk away from Carplay Ultra (Mercedes, Volvo, Renault, probably everyone has walked away except Aston Martin and allegedly Hyundai/Kia/Genesis). I think people can live without Carplay Ultra, sounds like it's nice to have but we've lived our lives without it so far.

Rivian and Tesla simply never had it, and Tesla seems to be adding it, so it's down to GM and Rivian being the odd ones out.
 
Kia can learn some stuff from Rivian. Kia Connect app on the Apple Watch is atrocious. They took the layout of the iOS app, and shrunk it down for the watch--microscopic lettering, tiny buttons--I never use their watch app because it's unusable.
 
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