At the I/O developer conference 2021, Google announced that it has partnered with BMW and other car makers to launch a digital key which shall enable users to lock, unlock and start the vehicle via its android app.
The further utilities of this device is yet to be announced by Google but for providing a gist of this new feature, it said that would be backed by Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology. UWB is a short distance wireless communication device which makes use of radio waves for transmitting signals over a network. It works on the same technology as of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Users who have cars enabled with NFC technology, or near-field communication, will have to tap their phones against door handles to unlock their cars. The digital key can also be shared “remotely and securely” among the known people, so that it becomes a hassle free operation for everyone using the car.
According to Google, this device will reduce the dependency on traditional keys. Now that every action is incomplete without the use of smartphone, digital key will further assist in the ease of locking and unlocking car. But this feature will be available first to high-end phones like Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy series. Also, there might be a premium for this digital key.
This feature will be rolled out primarily in the BMW cars firstly then to other automotive cars. We can expect car enabled with digital key in the year 2022 onwards.