Apple CarKey: Important Things You Should Know

Apple is seemingly eliminating the need to bring anything with you except the iPhone. In the past, the Cupertino-based company introduced Apple pay to replace the wallet. Now, it looks like the tech giant is trying to replace the car keys with the new Apple CarKey.

What is Apple Carkey?

The Apple CarKey was first discovered in the string of codes of the iOS 13.4 Beta build. Since then, several sites were reporting the possibility of it being released for consumers’ use in the future. But, what is Apple CarKey?

It is an upcoming iOS feature that will enable an Apple Watch or an iPhone to lock, unlock and even start vehicles that are NFC compatible. The Carkey is in the Wallet app and could be shared with other people through the Messages app. It could be sent individually and could not be sent to a group.

Apple Carkey could be permanent or temporary. When the feature is sent through the Messages app, it comes with instructions on how it functions.

How Does Apple CarKey Work?

Just like Apple Cash and Apple Pay, Apple CarKey is biometrically authenticated through Touch ID or Face ID. It is a security measure to make sure that the person holding the CarKey is the same person the owner granted permission to access the vehicle. As per Macrumors, the feature may come with an Express Mode, which seemingly works even without authentication. For this to work in a wide range of vehicles, Apple will have to work with other automakers.

This could imply that the Apple CarKey feature could be like the CarPlay, which is factory installed. Just like the smart home keys, Apple Carkey could temporarily grant access to a friend, a valet, a driver, who would use the vehicle. The owner could revoke their access to the vehicle at any time.

Carmakers need to build NFC readers into the vehicles they manufacture. Because of this, it would take some time for this Apple feature to be available to consumers.