The latest iOS 13 beta has offered new detail on Apple’s upcoming CarKey feature.
For a number of months, details of the upcoming CarKey feature – which will allow car owners to unlock their vehicles with their iPhone and Apple Watch – have been trickling in, and the new beta introduces several paragraphs of text about adding a car key to the Wallet.
As new privacy information has been introduced with this latest update, one can assume that Apple is planning to launch CarKey alongside iOS 13.6, rather than holding off until iOS 14.
It could be that Apple lifts the lid at its upcoming virtual WWDC, which kicks off next week.
It’s important to stress that virtual car keys can only be added from “certain vehicles”, and it’s likely that at launch, this will be a small number of models.
In time, however, manufacturers will add the CarKey feature to more of their cars, and it should enjoy widespread adoption.
When users add a CarKey to their Wallet, they’ll need to sign in to an app on the App Store from their car’s manufacturer, before following the steps to add the car key.
There’ll also be an option to add the car key using a pairing code screen from inside of the Wallet app.
Apple will then use your location and pair the CarKey authentication token with your phone to ensure that it’s definitely you that’s trying to access the divide. This will reduce the chance of fraud and car theft, something consumers will no doubt be anxious about when using it.
Consumers will be able to share a CarKey with a friend or family member using the invite button, sending the CarKey through iMessage to a car garage or friend to pick up food.
The CarKey feature will work with the ultra-wideband chip that’s included in the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max, and of course the iPhone 12 range, set to be released this September. Are you excited to try out CarKey? Let us know on social media.