Last year, Apple debuted support for digital car keys, which let users lock, unlock, and start their vehicles using a pass stored in the Wallet app on the iPhone. And with iOS 15, there's now Ultra Wideband support on the iPhone 11 and later that will let the feature work without having to remove your iPhone from your pocket.
Car manufacturers need to add the NFC technology to their vehicles to support digital car keys, and so far BMW has been the only manufacturer to do so with Apple's platforms.
It appears as if that's about to change, however, as an Apple configuration file specifying various compatibility criteria for Apple Pay NFC functionality has been updated today to add mention of Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis.
We noted earlier this year that BMW was preparing to support the Ultra Wideband version of Apple's digital car key feature and that Hyundai was reportedly moving to adopt digital car keys on iPhone as well, and that now appears to be coming to fruition.
We've yet to see an official announcement from Hyundai or Genesis about launching digital car key support on iOS, but the manufacturer debuted the feature on Android with its 2021 GV80 and G80 models and indicated that it was working with Apple on iOS support.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
The iPhone 18 Pro Max will feature a bigger battery for continued best-in-class battery life, according to a known Weibo leaker.
Citing supply chain information, the Weibo user known as "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max will have a battery capacity of 5,100 to 5,200 mAh. Combined with the efficiency improvements of the A20 Pro chip, made with TSMC's 2nm process, the...
You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
You don't have to "use the phone" to unlock the car. It behaves the same way a passive entry key fob does; walk up to the car it unlocks, walk away it locks. I've been doing it since 2018.
Solving a problem doesn't have to be the only reason for technology to exist. Plenty of things have been invented simply for convenience.
A single device we're carrying has already replaced cameras, music players, computers, wallets, notepads, maps, books, newspapers, boarding passes, etc. None of those were a problem before that but it's much more convenient to carry an iPhone than all that stuff. There's no reason not to add car keys, house keys, and building access cards to that list if it can be done effectively and securely.
You stopped carrying keys around because that's a choice you made. But that still doesn't mean it's a problem. Using a physical key takes literally seconds to unlock a car. And failing that, wireless keys have been a thing for a long, long time and are actually faster than using a phone.
So again, this is one of those progress-for-the-sake-of-progress things that the world just didn't need. It's more for the people making the money off the phones and the cars than it is for you or me, or to solve some sort of real-world problem.
It's a major improvement for me.
1. No need to carry around a key, it's also easier to find a lost iPhone or Apple Watch than a physical car key. The cost of replacing a lost cary key can be a lot. Say I irretrievably lose my iPhone, I can wipe it and replace it (and thus the digital key) easier than replacing a physical key. 2. Not needing to carry a key is great for when I go to the beach, gym, etc. 3. Having to carry round a car key seems archaic to me and something that can be easily replaced with a phone. What if I need to lend my car to a friend? I can easily send him a digital key for a time.
You've not really thought through the advantages it brings.
I completely stopped carrying keys around when I got my Tesla. My phone is the key. The backup keycard, for the rare occasion where my phone dies, is in my phone case.
It's nice to not have keys anymore.
I guess the one small improvement that could be made would be if my Apple Watch also acted as a key unlocking the car. Does Apple's implementation allow that?
