Phones can do just about everything these days; it’s even possible to use them as car keys, provided you have the right car or handset to make it work. And by right handset, I mean an iPhone. Or did, rather, because Google has started rolling out this feature as well.
Google has just launched a digital car key that will let you do all the things your ordinary key fob can do. Of course, being a brand new feature, it’s not universally available right now.
The digital car key has launched in select countries today, but it’s only available on Google Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S21 handsets, What’s more, it’ll only work with compatible BMW cars. So don’t throw away the key to your old Honda Civic just yet.
That being said, it’s about darn time Google got this feature going. For starters Apple launched a similar feature last June, with users able to utilize the NFC chip in their iPhone or Apple Watch as a way to unlock or start their car. Furthermore, Apple’s car key feature would continue working for up to five hours after the phone has run out of power.
More recently Apple promised a newer version of this feature would be powered by Ultrawideband (UWB), provided users have a device with a U1 chip. That's likely based on the new Digital Car Key 3.0 standard laid out by the Car Connectivity consortium back in July.
Automakers themselves have introduced a similar feature, powered by a companion app. Tesla is a notable example, with the Tesla app acting as a digital car key that automatically locks, unlocks and starts the car based on proximity.
Google hasn’t specified how its digital car key will work, though Pixel 6 compatibility suggests there is a version that doesn’t use UWB. Because while the Pixel 6 Pro and Galaxy S21 Plus and Galaxy S21 Ultra support UWB, the Pixel 6 and standard Galaxy S21 do not.
It’s not been confirmed which BMW cars are compatible. But it seems likely that this feature will be available on the same cars that support the iPhone’s digital car key, listed on BMW’s website. No doubt upcoming cars, like the BMW iX and BMW i4, will be compatible as well.
But that’s not all. Google is also letting users set Android Auto to launch automatically when you connect your phone to your car. Which I thought it did anyway, but apparently I am mistaken.
On top of this Google is adding an always-on play button to the home screen, for better eyes-free control over your tunes, with voice search support coming for music and media apps. Smart replies are also, finally, arriving, which should make the prospect of screening or responding to text messages while you drive a lot less of a chore.
