Almost three years have passed since then Apple first announced that it would turn your iPhone into a car key. Given that the technology has only worked on a select few BMW cars Until Kia and Genesis adopted it last yearIt is safe to say that the project was not a huge success. But Apple hasn’t given up on CarKey, and in fact seems to be doubling down — building a whole new app to try and get automakers into its digital ecosystem.
newly, A new app has appeared in the iOS App StoreA secret that you will not find by searching. It’s a testing app designed to help automakers make sure their cars work well with Apple’s NFC technology — and thus help ensure that Apple’s functionality ends up in new models. It appears that Apple is trying to lower the barrier to entry for automakers. Perhaps, if CarKey integration becomes easier, more companies will take the plunge.
But only because the automakers Can implement this function, will they? The NFC standard used by Apple’s CarKey really only works indoors About two inches from the phone to the receiver Drivers will actually have to tap their phone in their car, rather than just walk up to the door with a proximity key in their pocket. True, you can throw the app on your Apple Watch and leave your phone safely tucked into your jeans, but are you really going to spend hundreds on a watch when you already have a car key?
Apple does everything it can to entice new automakers into the CarKey ecosystem, but the simple fact is that the ecosystem itself could be the problem. It’s a bit of a solution to looking for a problem, a problem that’s no better than any other option out there.
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