Hyundai and its Genesis brand are reportedly close to adding support for Apple’s digital car key feature, which lets you unlock and launch compatible vehicles with the iPhone’s Wallet app. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. According to Gurman, the so-called “CarKey” feature will come to Hyundai’s Genesis series this summer.
Hyundai already offers its own iOS apps, including: MyHyundai with Bluelink and the Genesis Intelligent Assistant, including the ability to remotely start or unlock the doors of compatible vehicles. But adding support for Apple’s implementation of the digital key feature should make the functionality seamless and take advantage of Apple Wallet system-level shortcuts. Hyundai’s website notes that the NFC-based digital key feature is currently only available on Android phones.
Apple first announced its digital car key feature in 2020, but so far it’s only available on select BMW models. Reports of it coming to Hyundai’s cars date back to at least January 2021, when Business Korea reported about the plans and references to Hyundai’s Genesis cars have also been discovered in iOS 15 code.
BloombergThe report does not specify whether Hyundai plans to use the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology of recent iPhones, which will allow owners to unlock their car without having to take their phone out of their pocket, or whether it will just use NFC. BMW previously announced the feature for its all-electric iX, relying on the U1 chip found in the iPhone 11 and later.
Earlier there were rumors that Apple and Hyundai would be in talks to produce an electric car together. Hyundai later downplayed these rumors and said it was no longer in talks with the iPhone manufacturer.