After many rumors about it in recent months, Apple was finally releasing CarKey at the Keynote of the opening of WWDC 2020. As we could see at the event, BMW was the first to sign up for this new technology, becoming the first vehicle manufacturer to incorporate it into its range.
Although in the presentation it was said that the BMW 5 Series of 2021 would be the first vehicle to incorporate this technology, apparently they were referred to natively, and that is that BMW has announced that its most recent current vehicles will receive support for this new function via App-Connect, the interface of the brand’s infotainment system through which the car can receive updates.
CarKey will allow users to open and start their vehicle with the iPhone and Apple Watch, placing the car key in Wallet as if it were another card. Apple wants the iPhone to be the new key to your car, a futuristic feature that many users will undoubtedly embrace.
In addition to its functionality, the best thing about CarKey is the possibility of configuring access levels depending on who we share the key with. We can allow full access, enable only the opening but not the boot or for example allow only access to the trunk, all from our iPhone.
CarKey is currently available on BMW Series 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, X5, X6, X7, X6M and Z4 that were manufactured after January 1, 2020. The availability of this function can be checked as we said through the BMW Connect App itself, and in case of doubt, we recommend requesting information about it from an official brand dealer.
On the iPhone side, CarKey is available on iPhone XR, XS, SE 2nd generation, 11 and 11 Pro. In the case of wanting to use the Apple smartwatch, only the Apple Watch Series 5 have this function.