Audi has enabled support for Apple's digital car key feature in its latest A6 Avant e-tron model, bringing Apple Car Keys to the automaker's electric car platform for the first time (via Mac4Ever).
Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch with NFC capabilities or Ultra Wideband to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done simply by holding an Apple Watch or iPhone near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.
A tap on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock. Face ID authentication is a security option, but Apple also offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for a faster unlocking process.
The Audi A6 e-tron is the second model on on Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform. Audi shares its PPE with Porsche, and it is expected that all the next vehicles in the group will support digital car keys.
Code changes discovered last October by MacRumors in Apple's Wallet app backend indicated that Apple has been preparing support for digital car keys for certain Volvo, Polestar, and Audi vehicles.
Apple introduced digital car key support in 2022, and select car brands like BMW, BYD, Hyundai/Genesis/Kia, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, and RAM have implemented support for the feature. Apple maintains a full list of vehicles that support car keys on its CarPlay model availability webpage.
