The idea of using your phone or smartwatch as a car key has been around for a while now, and some vehicles – usually more expensive – are already equipped to do so. However, the implementation was substantially inconsistent between car brands, and sometimes even required certain phone models to work. Until recently, the necessary software was not even built into devices, which means you need a third-party app to lock and unlock your car.
It’s all changing. At Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last summer, it unveiled a new Car Keys protocol that embedded the feature in iOS ‘Wallet app, the same place where your credit cards are stored. To date, however, the company has only worked with BMW to carry it out.
Samsung today unveiled its new launch Galaxy S21 range of smartphones, and like Apple, it also bakes digital key hardware and software right into its phones. Unlike Apple, the Korean technology giant has partnered with Ford, Genesis and Audi as well as BMW to bring the feature to more makes and models in the near future.
It’s not just the willingness to work together that makes digital car keys more accessible – hardware also plays a role. Previously, digital keys were completely dependent on a technology called near-field communication, or NFC. With NFC, you can pay for things by tapping at a pay point on your phone; it is also the base behind the labels you can buy and paste at home so that you, for example, automatically place your phone on your bedside table.
NFC is a fantastically simple and practical technology, but it requires almost physical contact to work. This is very good: you do not want to accidentally pay for someone else’s shampoo when you are at the checkout at Target. However, a newer protocol, called ultra wideband (UWB), improves NFC by offering extremely location-accurate communication over short distances. Car manufacturers and technology companies reckon this makes it well suited for unlocking car doors.
At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event today where it showed off its new phone, Kevin Chung of Samsung described how unlocking will play with UWB. “You can unlock your car door with your phone,” Chung said. “The door will unlock when you reach it – not soon, not even later.”
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In other words, if your phone is in your pocket or pocket, you do not have to take it out and tap on the handle to get inside. At the same time, you can rest assured that your car will also not unlock if you are half a parking space.
By integrating digital keys into the operating system, you can share your key with friends and family as needed, and Chung pointed out that it will also be users of all phones, “regardless of brand or platform.” The last point is large and indicates a shift in industry to general practices for this feature, which will help it reach more cars, more devices and ultimately more people.
Apple and Samsung happen to be part of an institution called the Car Connectivity Consortium, along with Hyundai, General Motors and Volkswagen, among others car manufacturers. The consortium has developed a standard called Digital Key 3.0, which cements the use of low-power UWB, NFC and Bluetooth digital keys in all makes and models of gadgets and cars.
UWB chips can be found in a growing number of popular phones, including the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 series and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, in addition to the already mentioned S21 series. However, NFC is still the basis for current digital keys, as UWB is still fairly new to the scene.
BMW is one of the car manufacturers leading the move to UWB. This was confirmed yesterday that the BMW iX will introduce the next generation of key technology when it goes on sale at the end of the year. According to the company, it will not only be more convenient than NFC-based digital keys, but also more secure:
[UWB] is a short-range digital radio technology with high bandwidth that is characterized by an exceptionally precise location with the greatest possible security. UWB’s precision also ensures that relay attacks, where the radio signal is pinned or intercepted, are not possible.
The promise that you can use your phone as a car key has been coming for a long time and it has already arrived for a few lucky ones. Now that the two largest telephone makers in the world are fully on board and car manufacturers are working with them to create a common standard, it can finally catch up with the rest of us.