Apple iOS 13.4 beta’s ‘CarKey’ feature may let you unlock, start your car with an iPhone

The feature is not only said to lock or unlock the car using iPhone or Apple Watch but also start it. This however, will be only compatible with NFC-enabled vehicles.

Apple iPhone (Picjumbo)

Apple has just rolled out the first beta version of iOS 13.4 to all those iPhone users who opted for the program. Among several features, one of the highlights is 'CarKey'. This feature is said to let you unlock your car using an iPhone or Apple Watch, as reported by 9to5 Mac. Although the feature is not yet live, the website found some references mentioning it in the beta version.

The feature is not only said to lock or unlock the car using iPhone or Apple Watch but also start it. This however, will be only compatible with NFC-enabled vehicles and won't necessarily need to authenticate the process with Face ID. This indirectly also means that the 'CarKey' feature will work with iPhones and Apple Watch devices that are out of battery.

As for the pairing process, the setup is said to use the 'Wallet' app. Users would also need the car manufacturers app as well for the setup. "Users should place the iPhone on top of the NFC reader in the car during the initial process, and then CarKey will be available in the Wallet app. After that, the key can easily be added to Apple Watch," states the website.

Also mentioned is that the Apple 'CarKey' feature can be shared with family members. The driver can invite them through the Wallet app and give them access to the key via the Apple device.

Since there are some 'CarKey' API references found in iOS 13.4, it might as well be a possibility that Apple could be in talks with certain car manufacturers. We can only wait and see how the feature exactly works when the final version of iOS 13.4 is out.