David Hanak In the first beta version of iOS 13.4, there was a mention of a new feature, which is now called nothing but "CarKey". Thanks to it, iPhones and Apple Watch should easily serve as keys to a car that has an NFC reader for unlocking. Shortly after this discovery, speculation began about what the use of this feature could be, and it seems like it could be a really big deal.
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Jaromir Miko And not so much from the point of view of an ordinary user, or car owner with NFC unlocking. For these people, it will only be about making their lives more pleasant. However, Apple CarKey has the potential to greatly change the world of car sharing and various car rental companies.
Currently, individual car "keys" are located in the Wallet application, where it is possible to manipulate them further. For example, it is possible to send them to other people, making the vehicle available to them for a selected period of time. Car keys should be able to be shared using Messages, and only to other iPhones, as it will require an iCloud account and a device that supports Touch ID or Face ID to identify the recipient. It will also be possible to send keys only within a standard conversation, this option will not work in a group.
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Amaya Toman Once the virtual NFC key is sent, the recipient will be able to use their iPhone or their compatible Apple Watch to "activate" the car, either on a permanent or temporary basis. The length of key borrowing depends on its settings, which are adjusted by the owner of the key. Each recipient of the NFC key will see detailed information on the display of their iPhone about who sent them the key, how long it will be active and what vehicle it applies to.
Apple CarPlay:
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Apple will work with automakers to expand this innovation, which should result in the function being built into the car's infotainment system in the same way that Apple CarPlay is today. For these reasons, among others, Apple is a member of the Car Connectivity Consortium, which takes care of the implementation of NFC standards in vehicles. In this case, it is the so-called Digital Key 2.0, which should ensure a secure connection between the phone (watch) and the car).
NFC digital key for BMW:
We don't know any other specific information about Apple CarKey. It is not even clear whether Apple will introduce the new feature in iOS 13.4, or will keep it until the arrival of iOS 14 later in the year. In any case, it will be a feature that can significantly affect how, for example, the car rental market or vehicle sharing platforms work. The implementation of CarKey technology brings with it a huge number of question marks, especially from a legal point of view, but if people could rent cars from rental companies just by requesting a key in the app, it could literally cause a revolution. Especially abroad and on the islands, where tourists are dependent on classic car rental companies, which are relatively expensive, and the whole process is quite lengthy. The possibilities of using Apple CarKey are countless, but in the end it will depend on a large number of players (from Apple, through car companies and various regulators) who will influence the function and its operation in practice.
