BMW announces plans to launch ultra-wideband version of Apple’s car key function by early next year

BMW today announced plans to roll out Digital Key Plus, an enhanced version of Apple’s Car Keys feature that incorporates Ultra Wideband technology, allowing drivers to unlock and start their vehicles without having to take their iPhone out of their pocket or bag. BMW says the feature will be launched for the first time in its new iX electric vehicle, which is expected to launch in Europe in late 2021 and North America in early 2022.

Apple introduced digital car key support in iOS 13.6 and later last year, and BMW was the first and to date the only automaker to deploy this feature, starting with the 2021 5 Series and later to a wider range of BMW models manufactured after July 1. , 2020. BMW’s current Digital Key feature is based on NFC technology and requires drivers to hold their iPhones near the driver’s side door to unlock their vehicle.

Ultra Wideband is a short-range, high-bandwidth wireless communication protocol with precise spatial awareness, which means that an iPhone will only need to be near the vehicle to unlock and start it. . BMW claims that the precision of the Ultra Wideband also ensures that relay attacks, where the radio signal is scrambled or intercepted, are not possible.

Apple started rolling out Ultra Wideband support to some of its devices in 2019 with the U1 chip in iPhone 11 models, followed by iPhone 12 models last year. Apple Watch Series 6 models also come with a U1 chip, and since Apple’s car key feature is available on watchOS 6.2.8 and later, BMW’s Digital Key Plus feature could expand to the Apple Watch.

As announced last year, BMW’s press release confirms that Apple and BMW have worked closely with the Car Connectivity Consortium to establish the Digital Key 3.0 specification with Ultra Wideband, providing a global standard for the automotive industry.

In related news, Business Korea today claimed that Hyundai plans to adopt Apple’s digital car key feature later this year, but the report did not say whether Hyundai plans to roll out the NFC or Ultra Wideband version of the feature. Like credit cards and boarding passes, digital car keys are stored in the Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch.

(Thanks, Luke!)