iPhone's Digital Car Keys See Consortiums Teaming Up to Expand UWB Connectivity, Car Starting Feats

Digital car keys are here, but not all have the capabilities to start the car yet, as some partner brands and tech companies only go as far as unlocking the vehicle, but that will soon see an upgrade thanks to new partnerships. Two consortiums are banding together to make this a possibility, especially with their focus on expanding more of the Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) connectivity.

Car starting feats will soon make their way to users, with their iPhones and other smartphone brands capable of authenticating what the immobilizer needs for the engine to come alive.

iPhone's Digital Car Keys: Consortiums Team Up to Improve It

The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) has teamed up with FiRa Consortium to deliver an improvement to the current ultra-wideband technology that is made available to the CCC Key. While both focus on different ventures for the digital car key, this team-up is looking into transforming how this technology is used among smart devices.

"As the underlying IEEE 802.15.4 standards evolve, this new working group will ensure long-term interoperability and scalability of the advanced UWB technology developed for the CCC Digital Key, encouraging broader adoption of UWB technology for secure and accurate ranging for vehicle access," said CCC President Alysia Johnson.

For now, there are still challenges in the availability of digital car keys among devices and cars, with the team looking to expand more of the technology it has to offer for car owners.

UWB Connectivity, Car Starting Feats Coming Soon

This team-up forms the Joint Ultra-WideBand MAC PHY Working Group (JUMPWG) that would help ensure the long-term goals of this tech's development. At present, it works with Near-Field Communications (NFC) technology and UWB together with Bluetooth Low Energy.

Apple's Jinjing Jian, a wireless systems engineer, will lead as the Chair of this working group for the future development of this feature, including car starting capabilities.

Digital Car Keys and What it Has to Offer

Apple is one to bring digital car key storage in partnership with consortiums and other companies to deliver this technology for all, available via the Wallet app. Moreover, last year's update for iOS 16 allowed non-iPhone devices to receive a copy of these car keys, with it being shareable to Android, particularly to Google's Pixel phones.

Samsung is also notable for what it has to offer, as it also expanded the digital car key storage feature for other car manufacturers apart from BMW's significant move. The feature is also available for Genesis and Kia car keys to be accessible on one's Galaxy smartphone, and through the NFC, it can let the vehicle know that it is the owner, allowing it to start its engine.

Safety is one of the main concerns for this feature, as well as compatibility with more brands and models of the car. Soon, this latest team-up will help improve digital car keys for the iPhone, with better UWB connectivity and more.