The idea of using the phone or smartwatch as a car key has been around for a while and some vehicles (usually more expensive) are already equipped to let it go. However, implementation has been incredibly inconsistent across all vehicle brands and even requires certain phone models to work. Until recently, the necessary software wasn’t even pre-built into devices, which means you’ll need a third-party app to lock and unlock your car.
All this is changing. At Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last summer, it introduced a new car key protocol that incorporated the feature into the iOS Wallet app, in the same place where your credit cards are stored. However, so far the company has only partnered with BMW to deploy it.
Today, Samsung has unveiled its new product Galaxy S21 a range of smartphones and, like Apple, is also preparing digital key hardware and software directly into their phones. Unlike Apple, the Korean tech giant has announced partnerships with Ford, Genesis and Audi, as well as BMW, to bring the feature to more brands and models “in the near future.”
Not only does the willingness to work together make car digital keys more accessible – hardware also plays an important role. Previously, digital keys relied heavily on a technology called near field communication (NFC). NFC is how you can pay for things by touching the phone at a cash terminal; it’s also the basis of these tags that you can buy and stick in your home, so that, for example, when you put your phone on your bedside table, it automatically sets an alarm.
NFC is a pretty fantastic technology, but it requires virtually physical contact to work. Many times, this is good: you don’t want to pay unintentionally for someone else’s shampoo when you’re on Target’s payline. However, a newer protocol, called ultra broadband (UWB), improves NFC by providing very precise communication with short distance location. Car manufacturers and technology companies consider it a good fit for unlocking car doors.
Today, at Samsung’s Samsung Unpacked event, where he unveiled his new phone, Samsung’s Kevin Chung described how the unlock with UWB will unfold. “You’ll be able to unlock the car door with the phone,” Chung said. “The door will be unlocked when you get there, neither later nor later.”
G / O Media may receive a commission
In other words, if the phone is in your bag or pocket, you don’t have to take it out and touch it on the handle to get into it. At the same time, you can also be sure that your car will not be unlocked when you are in the middle of the parking lot.
Integrating digital keys at the operating system level will allow you to share your key with friends and family when needed, and Chung noted that this will extend to users of all phones “regardless of brand or platform.” This last point is huge and indicates a shift across the industry to common practices for this feature, which will help it reach more cars, more devices, and ultimately more people.
Apple and Samsung are part of a body called the Car Connectivity Consortium, along with Hyundai, General Motors and Volkswagen, among other carmakers. The consortium has developed a standard, called Digital Key 3.0, that cements the use of low-power UWB, NFC and Bluetooth for digital keys of all makes and models of gadgets and cars.
UWB chips can be found in a growing number of popular phones, including Samsung’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra series, in addition to the aforementioned S21 range. Still, NFC remains the basis of today’s digital keys, as UWB is still fairly new in the scene.
BMW is one of the leading vehicle manufacturers to switch to UWB. It was confirmed yesterday that the BMW iX will introduce key next-generation technology when it goes on sale later this year. According to the company, not only will it be more convenient than NFC-based digital keys, but it will also be more secure:
[UWB] is a high-bandwidth, short-range digital radio technology that is characterized by exceptionally accurate location with maximum security. The accuracy of UWB also ensures that relay attacks are not possible, where the radio signal is stuck or intercepted.
The promise of being able to use the phone as a car key has been around for a long time, and it has already arrived for a lucky few. But now that the two largest phone makers in the world are already on board and carmakers are working with them to create a common standard, we may finally catch up with the rest.