Report: Hyundai's Genesis line set to be the next to get Apple CarKey support

Wwdc 2020 Carkey Demo (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

Hyundai and its Genesis line will reportedly gain CarKey support.
Drivers can unlock cars and start engines using their iPhone and Apple Watch.
Like Apple Pay Express Transit, CarKey support doesn't require the device to be powered on.

Hyundai's Genesis line is set to be the next to take advantage of Apple CarKey, according to a new report. Currently, BMW is the only company that offers support for Apple's secure virtual car key functionality.

The feature, which allows people to unlock their cars using their iPhone and Apple Watch, has been suffering from an exceptionally slow expansion — that is, it hasn't expanded beyond its initial BMW rollout. Now, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that Genesis drivers will be the next to benefit from the technology. Gurman was writing in his weekly Power On newsletter.

Remember CarKey, the Apple feature announced a year and a half ago that lets you unlock and start your car from your iPhone's Wallet app? I wouldn't be surprised if you're unfamiliar with it, given that Apple hasn't discussed the feature in a while and it only works on select BMW models. I'm told that's going to change soon. In line with code findings several months ago in iOS 15, I'm hearing that the next cars to get support for the feature will be models from Hyundai and its Genesis line. I'm told the functionality will roll out by the summer.

Like Apple Pay Express Transit, Apple CarKey support doesn't require that iPhones and Apple Watches be powered on in order to work — an important mechanic considering the potential for being locked out of your own car if that wasn't the case.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.