Watch an M1 MacBook Air serve as a digital key for a Tesla

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Macbook Air M1
Macbook Air M1 (Image credit: Daniel Bader / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Quinn Nelson has installed the Tesla app on his M1 Mac.
  • The app will control a Tesla and allow the Mac to even act as a key to the car.

Quinn Nelson, best known for his Snazzy Labs, YouTube channel, has found an incredibly cool and equally ridiculous way to use iPhone apps on the new M1 MacBook Air.

Because of the M1 processor, Macs featuring the chip can now run iPhone and iPad apps. Developers can choose to have their apps omitted from being offered in the Mac App Store, but that doesn't stop people from downloading the actual IPA file to their M1 Mac and running any iPhone or iPad app on the laptop.

Nelson installed the Tesla app on his M1 MacBook Air this way and found out that it enabled the Mac to not only remotely control his Tesla but act as its key as well.

I have the world's biggest car key and the world's stupidest use for an M1 Mac.

It has been interesting to see all of the creative things that people are doing with iPhone and iPad apps on their Mac. Have you seen anything that tops this? Let us know in the comments!

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.