Apple is preparing to expand its CarKey feature which was first announced at WWDC 2020. The feature, two years into its unveil, has been relegated to select BMW models in limited countries but now according to famed Apple watcher Mark Gurman, the feature could be coming to Hyundai vehicles and cars from its premium luxury brand Genesis. The feature is expected to roll out by summer 2022, and likely will be announced at Apple’s 2022 WWDC conference which could happen in June.
This is interesting as Apple and Hyundai have become strange bedfellows after Hyundai revealed that it was in talks with the Cupertino-based gadget maker for the manufacturing of the Apple Car project which has been in limbo for a long time. Apple is said to have pulled back from any engagement after Hyundai made unsolicited disclosures.
But this expansion of CarKey is crucial as Google has made more headway with Android Auto and a similar feature that was announced last year at Google I/O. On top of this Google has also managed to onboard several key manufacturers for Android Automotive – like Volvo and Ford – which is its operating system for the car infotainment system. Google of course is also the pioneer of self-driving technology as Waymo spawned out of its skunkworks Google X unit and has since been the flag bearer of autonomous cars.
Google, Apple’s prime rival in the modern computing rival has had the leg up on the in-car experience and Apple has to make moves to catch up. Luckily, Apple has been building towards an expanded CarKey rollout as codebase leaks in iOS 15 have also suggested the same, though this could happen with iOS 16 which is around the corner.