My iPhone Wallet<\/span> stores theater and transit tickets and all of my credit and debit cards, and it lets me sashay like a boss through my gym\u2019s turnstile. The tech works flawlessly, requiring only my proximity or the merest tilt of the device toward my face. Biometric<\/a> goodness means I have few worries about security, even accessing my bank accounts.<\/p>\n So \u2026 why am I still opening my EV<\/a> with a key?<\/p>\n OK, it\u2019s more than just a metal key; it\u2019s a passive electronic fob with proximity-based radio signaling, which means I don\u2019t have to press anything to unlock my car. But it\u2019s nevertheless a bacteria-rich, easily lost, marque-branded plastic blob that, in truth, I no longer need. And I haven\u2019t needed it for some years.<\/p>\n BMW 5 Series owners have been using smartphones to unlock, start, and digitally share access<\/a> to their luxury vehicles<\/a> since 2021, the year after Apple\u2019s introduced its plainly titled Car Key. Audi, Kia, and Hyundai<\/a> later implemented support for \u200cthe feature. During the WWDC 2025 keynote in June<\/a>, Apple said that 13 additional vehicle brands would \u201csoon\u201d join them, including Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, and Porsche. \u201cSoon\u201d appears to mean 2026.<\/p>\n Tesla<\/a> Model 3 owners have had digital key access since 2017, when the midsize sedan launched without a fob; it could only be opened with a smartphone. Subsequently, digital-native carmakers Rivian<\/a> and Polestar<\/a> also enabled digital key use. (\u201cDigital Key has been removed from the upcoming 2025.34 software update for further testing,\u201d noted a recent update from Rivian<\/a>. The company\u2019s comms team tells WIRED it\u2019ll be available again \u201csoon.\u201d)<\/p>\n Owners of the latest high-end Ford<\/a> vehicles can use digital keys. Still, the Dearborn, Michigan, company clearly isn\u2019t ready to ditch fobs\u2014in October it launched the $200 Truckle<\/a>, an ornate Western-style belt buckle with a cavity to fit the oversized F-150<\/a> fob, so it need never get lost or spoil the line of your jeans.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Ford<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n Phone-as-a-key functionality isn\u2019t just for select luxury cars. The wire-in MoboKey<\/a> device turns a smartphone into a digital key and can be fitted by an auto electrician to almost any modern car, gas or electric.<\/p>\n Similarly, KeyDIY<\/a>, a Chinese smart key maker, sells a USB-powered box of tricks<\/a> that allows almost any car to operate with a digital key. The box grabs car connectivity signals\u2013Flipper-Zero-style<\/a>\u2013emulating the rolling codes that key fobs use to foil signal boosting \u201crelay\u201d attacks where criminals use antennas and extenders<\/a> to capture the signals from a car\u2019s key fob. (Always store your fob in a Faraday cage.) KeyDIY\u2019s box, which lives in the car, is actuated by a device connected momentarily to the vehicle\u2019s onboard diagnostic port.<\/p>\n In short, the picture here is that digital key tech is mature and (mostly<\/a>) secure, and we\u2019re perfectly happy using Bluetooth Low Energy, near-field communication (NFC), and ultra-wideband<\/a> (UWB) in the rest of our life\u2014unless you\u2019re a conspiracy theorist who clings to cash, that is\u2014so why are so many of us still seemingly so attached to our physical car fobs?<\/p>\n \u201cMost people are reluctant to go without the physical backup of an actual key,\u201d says Sean Tucker, managing editor of automotive research company Kelley Blue Book. And, he adds, picking up a fob is now an ingrained habit. There are also emotional factors to consider.<\/p>\n \u201cA car key is full of meaning,\u201d says Stefan G\u00f6ssling, a professor at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and author of The Psychology of the Car<\/em>. \u201cJingling them gives some motorists the opportunity to show off their automobile, even if the car is not close by. Car keys are also comforting to some, a physical reminder that your vehicle is there to take you away; to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Why](\"https:\/\/media.wired.com\/photos\/690e4c86f3f07333852ec3f6\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/Truckle_17.jpg\"\/)
<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\nDigital for All<\/h2>\n
The Key to Meaning<\/h2>\n