The iPhone car key feature comes to some Genesis and Kia vehicles

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Car keys in Wallet: Everything you need to know
Car keys in Wallet: Everything you need to know (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple's car key feature is now supported by a number of new cars.
  • Some Genesis and Kia cars have joined the existing BMW vehicles that previously supported digital keys.
  • Kia has confirmed that more information will be available "in the coming weeks.

Apple's impressive car key feature is now available for some Genesis and Kia vehicles, adding to a list that previously stood at just a single manufacturer — BMW.

Apple car key technology allows people to lock, unlock, and start their car using nothing but their iPhone or Apple Watch so long as they are using iOS 13.6 or watchOS 6.2.8 or newer.

Apple has now updated its list of support vehicles to include the 2022 Genesis GV60, 2022 Genesis G90, and 2022 Kia Niro, a move that was spotted by MacRumors. Drivers will be able to add their car key to the Wallet app on their iPhone and Apple Watch and then leave their physical key at home.

The addition of the U1 chip found in the iPhone 11 and Apple Watch Series 6 and newer means that people don't even need to take their devices out of their pockets or swipe their wrist near the car's locks — everything is handled wirelessly and keys will continue to work for hours after an iPhone or Apple Watch's battery is depleted.

Despite this news, it's still early days for Apple's car key technology. Carmakers are notoriously slow at adding these kinds of features and there are plenty of cars sold today that don't even have CarPlay support, although things have improved on that front in recent years

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.