Last year, Apple debuted support for digital car keys, which let users lock, unlock, and start their vehicles using a pass stored in the Wallet app on the iPhone. And with iOS 15, there's now Ultra Wideband support on the iPhone 11 and later that will let the feature work without having to remove your iPhone from your pocket.
Car manufacturers need to add the NFC technology to their vehicles to support digital car keys, and so far BMW has been the only manufacturer to do so with Apple's platforms.
It appears as if that's about to change, however, as an Apple configuration file specifying various compatibility criteria for Apple Pay NFC functionality has been updated today to add mention of Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis.
We noted earlier this year that BMW was preparing to support the Ultra Wideband version of Apple's digital car key feature and that Hyundai was reportedly moving to adopt digital car keys on iPhone as well, and that now appears to be coming to fruition.
We've yet to see an official announcement from Hyundai or Genesis about launching digital car key support on iOS, but the manufacturer debuted the feature on Android with its 2021 GV80 and G80 models and indicated that it was working with Apple on iOS support.
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device.
Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.
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You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
You don't have to "use the phone" to unlock the car. It behaves the same way a passive entry key fob does; walk up to the car it unlocks, walk away it locks. I've been doing it since 2018.
Solving a problem doesn't have to be the only reason for technology to exist. Plenty of things have been invented simply for convenience.
A single device we're carrying has already replaced cameras, music players, computers, wallets, notepads, maps, books, newspapers, boarding passes, etc. None of those were a problem before that but it's much more convenient to carry an iPhone than all that stuff. There's no reason not to add car keys, house keys, and building access cards to that list if it can be done effectively and securely.
You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
It's a major improvement for me.
1. No need to carry around a key, it's also easier to find a lost iPhone or Apple Watch than a physical car key. The cost of replacing a lost cary key can be a lot. Say I irretrievably lose my iPhone, I can wipe it and replace it (and thus the digital key) easier than replacing a physical key. 2. Not needing to carry a key is great for when I go to the beach, gym, etc. 3. Having to carry round a car key seems archaic to me and something that can be easily replaced with a phone. What if I need to lend my car to a friend? I can easily send him a digital key for a time.
You've not really thought through the advantages it brings.
I completely stopped carrying keys around when I got my Tesla. My phone is the key. The backup keycard, for the rare occasion where my phone dies, is in my phone case.
It's nice to not have keys anymore.
I guess the one small improvement that could be made would be if my Apple Watch also acted as a key unlocking the car. Does Apple's implementation allow that?