Tech is supposed to make our lives comfier, right? So picture this — what if you didn’t even need to keep a car key with you, and have the ability to unlock/lock and start your car with your iPhone or wearable? Sounds great (until your phone gets stolen…). Oh yeah, and you won’t need to use biometric authentication to access the NFC-enabled car.
9to5Mac reports that the first beta version of the next version of iOS (13.4) contains references to a “CarKey” API. They reckon that this API will allow you to use your iPhone/Apple Watch as a car key using NFC. Based on the internal files the publication saw, you won’t even have to authenticate with Face/Touch ID — you simply have to hold your device near the reader to work. This is so you’ll still be able to use your car after the phone’s battery runs out.
This feature will obvs only work on NFC-enabled vehicles — so you won’t be able to start your Toyota Tazz with an iPhone 4.
Lose your phone, lose your car
Buuut that sounds extremely careless and unsafe, or it’s just the South African in us talking. Why would you make it that easy for someone to gain access to your car? We’re sure Apple has a fix for this conundrum, or the feature just won’t hit South Africa at all.
Beta reports also suggest that users will be able to give other people access to your vehicle with their devices. You’ll have to send that trusted family member or friend an invite through the Wallet app, and voila! You’ve just lost your car. Again.
We feel this feature may have a whole wack of safety and security flaws off the bat. It’s just not viable launching a possibly compromising feature. Especially if there’s no way of authenticating who is trying to drive a vehicle. But knowing Apple, they should flesh out the crummy details before launch.
Sauce: 9to5Mac