• News

Apple reveals shareable digital car key at WWDC 2020

At the WWDC 2020 special event keynote livestream, Apple introduced their new take on digital car keys for both iOS 13 and the upcoming iOS 14.

TJ Denzer

June 22, 2020 10:40 AM

1

If you’ve ever been worried about leaving your car keys behind for some reason, Apple is aiming to make some cars accessible from your iPhone. The company has created a new take on digital car keys that will be available in certain upcoming cars and accessible via Apple products featuring iOS 13 and the new iOS 14.

Apple’s new digital CarKey application was revealed via the WWDC 2020 special event livestream on June 22, 2020. Coming soon to Apple products and new vehicles coming in 2020. If you leave your keys behind for any reason, Apple’s new digital CarKey will allow you to unlock and even start your car on applicable vehicles. Apple announced during the stream that the 2021 BMW 5-Series will be among the first vehicles to utilize the Apple iOS 14 CarKey functionality. You can check out the demonstration of Apple’s digital car keys function in the video below.

In addition to announcing the unlocking and engine start features of the CarKey app, Apple also revealed that there are a few safeguards in place if you should lose your phone or need to give someone limited access. A special Restricted mode will let you allow other users access to a connected car with your own set limits on what they can and cannot do with it. Moreover, if you lose the iPhone on which your CarKey access is tied, you can shutdown access to the CarKey app and vehicle accessibility remotely. All-in-all, it should provide some piece of mind for users who are worried about a number of issues that may come up.

Be sure to check out our other WWDC 2020 coverage, including new Widgets introduced in iOS 14 and the introduction of WatchOS 7.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.