Benzinga | Jan 16, 2022 01:37PM EST

Apple's CarKey Coming To More Auto Brands; Unlock And Start Your Vehicle With iPhone, Apple Watch

Apple, Inc.'s(NASDAQ:AAPL) CarKey feature that was first announced in mid-2020 hasn't caught on as much as the company would have desired.

What Happened: Cupertino's CarKey feature, which currently works only on select Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (OTC:BMWYY) models, could be in for wider adoption, 9to5mac reports, citing Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman.

According to code findings in iOS, Gurman said the CarKey feature support will be available for models from South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company (PNK: HYMTF) and its Genesis line of vehicles. The functionality will roll out by this summer, the report said.

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How It Works: The CarKey feature, which was announced at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in 2020, can be added to the Wallet app, and allows the iPhone or Apple Watch to lock, unlock and start a vehicle.

To use it, a user has to have a compatible car, an iPhone XS or later or second-generation iPhone SE, with the latest version of iOS, or an Apple Watch Series 5 or later or Apple Watch SE, with the latest version of watchOS.

An Apple user can hold their iPhone close to the car's door handle to unlock it using NFC technology. Once inside, the vehicle can be started by placing the iPhone on the NFC reader or wireless charger.

If the feature is used on an iPhone 11 or later, these operations can be done without taking out the phone. This is accomplished by using the U1 chip, which allows the more recent iPhone models to precisely locate and communicate with other U1-equipped devices, or other devices that support ultra-wideband.

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