Android phones can now do so much more than just make phone calls. They can take pictures, act as GPS navigators, be used as credit cards, and more. It can even be used as the key to your car now. That is what Android 12's Car Key feature does.
Android Car Key
As the name implies, the Car Key feature can enable your Android smartphone to act as the key to your vehicle. You can lock, unlock, and even begin your car with your phone, according to TechCrunch.
The concept is very similar to mobile payment services. For example, Google Pay allows you to use your phone as your very own credit card. Just tap it to the card reader, and you can pay for it without going through your wallet.
Android's Car Key feature, which is available on Android 12, is not new. In fact, Apple is currently working on its own version for its iPhones and Apple Watches.
Both Apple and Google are part of the Car Connectivity Consortium, which created the digital key technology standard, according to HowtoGeek.
How Does the Android Car Key Work?
Android's Cary Key features use a lot of different technologies. The first feature is the Ultra-Wideband technology or UWB. It is something that has been added to smartphones these past few months, like in iPhone 11.
The Ultra-Wideband technology is similar to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the sense that it is a wireless protocol that uses radio waves, according to Gizmodo.
UWB uses these radio waves in order to detect when other objects, like your car, are within your proximity. It is the same technology that Apple uses in its AirTags device.
The other technology that is used by Android is Near Field Communication or NFC, an old standard that has been in phones for years now. It is another technology that relates to being physically close to an object. It lets you tap your phone to the car door so you can unlock it.
Which Phones and Cars Will Get It the Feature?
Unfortunately, because of the technologies that are used for the Car Key feature, it won't be available to everyone, at least not right away. Google is currently working with BMW and other automakers to bring the feature to newer car models.
On the phone side of things, you will need a recent generation Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phone that supports UWB and NFC.
Google announced the Car Key feature in May of 2021, stating that it would become available before 2021 ends.
This is great news for smartphones as a whole. Car companies like Audi and Tesla have their own versions of this feature, but a standardized method built-in to Android and iPhone smartphones makes it easier for everyone to use.
The development of this feature is just part of Google's push to make sure that smartphone is the centerpiece of consumers' lives. And it is a goal that can't be achieved without including cars.
Google's VP of engineering, Erik Kay, wrote in a blog post that when buying a phone these days, people are not only buying a phone but a whole ecosystem of devices that are expected to work together.
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Written by Sophie Webster
