Apple Wants Your Car Keys - and Driver's License

Apple announces new CarKeys feature

Apple announces new CarKeys feature, legal ID patents

Apple recently unveiled plans to combine iPhone, Apple Watch, and car keys - in this Fall’s update, you’ll be able to unlock and start your car using only your iPhone or even Apple Watch.

To use the Car Key feature, all you have to do is hold your device near your door handle. Once inside your car, all you have to do is set your phone on the wireless charger. With the iPhone 11 or newer, you won’t even have to take the phone out of your pocket. By default, there is no Face ID or Touch ID required to unlock or start your car, although you can change this in settings. I imagine this will work similarly to using Apple Pay, as Apple slowly continues to empty our pockets.

Apple’s Car Key will be available on the following devices:

• iPhone XR
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE 2nd gen.
• Apple Watch Series 5

Apple claims that even with a dead device, you can still unlock and start your vehicle for up to 5 hours, using Power Reserve mode.

In addition to taking your Car Keys, Apple has filed for 5 patents involving digital versions of your driver’s license and passport. None of them explicitly mention your iPhone, but rather point to the idea that all your devices will hold a copy of your IDs.

How do you feel about giving up your wallet and keys? You could leave the house with nothing but your iPhone or Apple Watch, but only if you trust Apple enough to keep your identity and vehicle safe.

Should we keep replacing everyday essentials with apps? How far should we let this trend continue?