![[단독]The Apple iPhone opens the door and starts the Hyundai car.](http://pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/13/dbbcc0d5-77ab-436e-8832-0af90282de04.jpg "[단독]The Apple iPhone opens the door and starts the Hyundai car.")
![Hyundai's'Digital Key' opens the door of the latest Avante. To prevent promotion of a specific smartphone, the front camera part of the smartphone was processed with Photoshop. [사진 현대차]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/13/dbbcc0d5-77ab-436e-8832-0af90282de04.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
Hyundai’s’Digital Key’ opens the door of the latest Avante. To prevent promotion of a specific smartphone, the front camera part of the smartphone was processed with Photoshop. [사진 현대차]
Hyundai Motor Company introduces a service that allows you to open and start a car with an Apple iPhone. It is a service that allows you to use the’digital key’ function that can be used in the current Sonata, K5, Avante, etc. with the iPhone. Until now, only Samsung or LG smartphones using the Google Android operating system (OS) were available.
Open and close the Hyundai car door and turn on the engine with the iPhone
According to the auto industry on the 13th, Hyundai Motor Company will unveil the digital key function for the iPhone (iOS) within this year. New cars from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, which will debut in 2021, as well as many of the existing car models, will sequentially apply digital keys for iOS through software updates.
Recently, it was found that Hyundai Motor Company has obtained some APIs that can implement digital keys from Apple. API is a computer command system that connects the OS and applications (apps) and is used for programming. Apple is restricting API sharing because security is a top priority. It is contrary to Google, which adopted the’open API’ policy.
![When Hyundai Motor Company first applied the digital key to the new Sonata in March 2019, it was only available on Android-based smartphones due to Apple's security policy (red box). [자료 현대차]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202101/13/97a65a44-d8ec-4e21-83a5-283baebac773.jpg?w=560&ssl=1)
When Hyundai Motor Company first applied the digital key to the new Sonata in March 2019, it was only available on Android smartphones due to Apple’s security policy (red box). [자료 현대차]
Prior to Hyundai Motor Company, BMW and Tesla were among the companies that used the iPhone as a car key. The BMW method that Apple unveiled last June is the first. BMW and Apple installed the key of the midsize sedan ‘5 Series’ in the iPhone’s’Wallet’ app. However, BMW does not support digital keys for Android smartphones. In the case of Tesla, it is a way to download an app to a smartphone. From the beginning, Tesla developed an app that can control various functions of the car and uploaded it to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Apple Watch to replace Hyundai’s key
It is known that Hyundai Motor Company chose the BMW method. In addition, Hyundai Motor Company is also considering ways to bundle various services through digital keys. For example, by using a digital key, it is possible to charge an electric vehicle through another person even if the owner of the vehicle is not nearby. Digital keys can be shared with up to 3 people if desired.
Major partnerships with Hyundai Motor Company and IT companies. Graphic = Kim Hyun-seo [email protected]
As soon as the development of the digital key app is completed, Hyundai Motor Company plans to apply for domestic near field communication (NFC)-related examination and Apple’s security examination, respectively. IPhone users, which account for about 20% of domestic smartphone users and 50% of the American market, can drive Hyundai vehicles without a key in the future. Like the iPhone, the Apple Watch using iOS can be used as a digital key in the future.
An official from Hyundai Motors said, “We are aiming to apply it within the year, and we are developing it in accordance with the’Car Connectivity Consortium’ (CCC) standard,” he said. CCC is an international association that sets technical standards that enable ▶locking and unlocking vehicles, starting engines, and sharing remote keys with smartphones and smartwatches. Not only Hyundai Motor Company, but also telecommunications companies such as SK Telecom and Deutsche Telecom, and about 120 companies including Apple are participating.
Reporter Kim Young-min [email protected]