Apple first announced that the Digital Car Key feature would be coming to the iPhone in 2020. The idea, of course, is to replace your iPhone’s regular car key. Unfortunately, the feature never really gained traction, and is only available in non-BMW cars anymore Mid 2022 (Opens in a new tab).
But it appears that Apple may take action to help automakers adopt the feature in their own cars. 9to5Mac (Opens in a new tab) Spotted Apple developer account added new “Car Key Tests” app (Opens in a new tab) to the App Store. Judging by its description, this app is designed for “car key feature testing and verification”.
This should, in theory, help automakers integrate the technology into new cars and ensure they work as intended. The fact that it is available on the iPhone should also simplify the process, and going from the testing phase to the official certification should be a piece of cake. Hopefully, this means that Apple’s digital car key technology will reach more cars over the next couple of years.
Of course, the app is only for people with a Made For iPhone (MFi) license, and it’s not generally available for download. You can’t even search for it, and the only way to see the Car Key Tests app is via a direct link.
When Apple Pay first launched, Apple shared its ambition to have the iPhone replace all the other things you have to carry around every day. This has expanded over time, with Apple Wallet now able to store loyalty cards, concert tickets, boarding passes, and government IDs in addition to credit and debit cards.
Adding car keys to the mix took that step forward. Not only does it let you unlock and start your car from the Wallet app, but you can also share your digital car key with other iPhones. Much easier than carrying around a car key or fob, and without having to worry about frivolous things like swapping batteries or paying for odds to get extra keys.
The only problem is that only a few cars actually support this feature. So far only BMW, Genesis and Kia have Apple Car Key integration, with 18 models supported – only 4 of which are not BMW. Other cars, such as Tesla, offer their own digital car key features, and they aren’t quite as convenient as having them plugged into your phone out of the box.
We hope the Car Key Tests app can help change things, and help automakers get on board. But we just have to wait and see what happens over the next few years. Here’s hoping Android will follow Apple’s lead, just as it did with the launch of its own digital car key feature in Android 12.
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