Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Pay Chief Suggests Digital Car Keys Could Expand to Rentals

platinumaqua said:
People are going to find out the downsides of locking everything onto a phone at the worst time possible (i.e. needing to drive to an important appointment) when Apple pushes out an update that breaks digital keys/wallet
Click to expand...
You would still have your regular key. The "key" is remembering where you (mis)placed it, since you are used to using digital key most of the time.

Pun intended.
 
platinumaqua said:
My car's key fob has a pull out blade key for when the battery dies, and it can still be used to start the engine by holding the key fob next to the start button.

What's the backup for digital keys in a phone when it stops working if you didn't bring a physical key/key fob? (*crickets*)
Click to expand...
NFC digital card or watch 🙂
 
dontwalkhand said:
You would still have your regular key. The "key" is remembering where you (mis)placed it, since you are used to using digital key most of the time.

Pun intended.
Click to expand...

SteveJUAE said:
NFC digital card or watch 🙂
Click to expand...
sorry, snark not intended, but the question was for the people who say they'll stop carrying any physical keys/wallets if they can go all in on digital wallets/keys. No backups there if the digital key stops working while they're outside...

For me digital keys serves as a good backup but I'll never not carry & use the physical option
 
  • Like
Reactions: GrayFlannel
jz0309 said:
The rental car companies aren’t up for that for at least another 10 years, they’re struggling with EVs (eg Hertz) enough …
As for hotels, I’ve always opted for a physical key/card, tried digital and it failed on me.
But good for everyone who wants to use it, just don’t force it down our throats
Click to expand...
If Apple makes it easy, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be on board.

Tesla already worked with Hertz to allow digital keys and the Tesla app to be used on all their rentals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted13
platinumaqua said:
My car's key fob has a pull out blade key for when the battery dies, and it can still be used to start the engine by holding the key fob next to the start button.

What's the backup for digital keys in a phone when it stops working if you didn't bring a physical key/key fob? (*crickets*)
Click to expand...
Literally the same exact thing. Your key fob is RFID. You would be able to hold your phone to the door or sensor even if the phone is dead.
 
crisss1205 said:
If Apple makes it easy, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be on board.

Tesla already worked with Hertz to allow digital keys and the Tesla app to be used on all their rentals.
Click to expand...
Is Apple car key the same implementation/functionality for every automaker?
Tesla is miles ahead of everyone else in this field…
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ted13
icwhatudidthere said:
Actually I hope it is rocket science. You’re talking about being able to retrofit a device that would bypass built-in security like immobilizers or you’re talking about a way to clone the key fob so your phone can act as a fob. Either way sounds like a big security hole.
Click to expand...
Wrong. It wouldn't bypass built-in security, it would imitate it. I'm no expert, but I assume the key fob contains something that transmits a digital code that matches the car computer, and there is a NFC chip of some sort that identifies when the fob is IN or OUT of the car. If IN the car, the car starts. If OUT of the car, it doesn't.
 
marcushe said:
Please god implement this ASAP so we can do self-pickup at rental car agencies and not wait in line for 1.5 hours to talk to the sales rep before getting the key
Click to expand...
Please God, tell the car rental companies to take some of their profits and put more than one human behind the 15 terminals (14 are empty) in their office.

I just rented from Alamo and even though I did the express checkout, there was no option to just go get my car and bypass the counter. There was a QR code sign to do so, but I had no cellular inside their rental office so...
 
  • Like
Reactions: ignatius345, artifex and arkitect
interstella said:
Apple Pay was a big hit here in the UK pretty much from day one. I can't understand why it was so slow to take off in the USA.
Click to expand...

People like to say banal things like that. It’s on the same line as saying, “they said that about the iPod too”. It’s an extremely powerful claim impervious to retorts and artificially granting them I Know More than You status.
 
I can see its convenience in some circumstances. I like having options to use technology as it best suits my use.
 
H.E. Pennypacker said:
Hard pass for me with the digital car keys. Call me old fashioned.
Click to expand...
I've been using my iPhone as the keys for our Tesla Model Y for the last four years, via the Tesla app. It is about as reliable and secure as any key method possibly could be. It's not a coincidence that a Tesla is the least likely car to get stolen
 
Seoras said:
That would help avoid the horrible feeling you get when you get on your flight and only then discover the keys to your rental are still in your pocket.
Click to expand...
Except we need states to allow digital only car keys for rentals.. most states don’t even allow you to carry a digital only drivers license
 
msackey said:
Maybe I'm just too behind the times, but if I'm renting a car, I want a physical key or fob. I don't want anything digital. It feels like I wouldn't have "proof" that I am legitimately using the car or that the digital key can too easily be lost. I don't know....

In any case, electronic boarding passes have long been issued for airplanes, etc. I still insist on having one printed though. I find it safer that way. I will do the whole electronic online checkin, but I will print out my boarding pass OR I will print it out at the self-service kiosk at the airport. Having that piece of legitimate paper seems to me to be actual documentation I can show someone if anything wonky happens to the electronic pass.
Click to expand...
Lucky you that you have never lost a rental car key. A friend recently somehow managed to lock his rental car keys in the trunk of the car. That required the car to get towed and somebody to then get a locksmith….
 
platinumaqua said:
My car's key fob has a pull out blade key for when the battery dies, and it can still be used to start the engine by holding the key fob next to the start button.

What's the backup for digital keys in a phone when it stops working if you didn't bring a physical key/key fob? (*crickets*)
Click to expand...
You don't have to use the old fashioned physical key form factor. Tesla has used a digital key for years, and has key cards as backups, which are the same size and form factor as a credit card, that you can simply keep in your wallet.
 
interstella said:
Apple Pay was a big hit here in the UK pretty much from day one. I can't understand why it was so slow to take off in the USA.
Click to expand...

It was really the outdated credit card terminals that was the issue. Retailers didn't want to buy new terminals that supported NFC when they saw little to no benefit. However, after the US finally switched in earnest to credit card chips, due to the responsibility for fraud flipping over to being the retailers problem if they swiped the card, that essentially forced retailers to update their terminals. And NFC was a side benefit of the newer terminals.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: freedomlinux, interstella, msackey and 1 other person
Apple Pay wasn’t a hit with consumers when it first launched because crappy US retailers like Lowe’s, Walmart, Home Depot, and Kroger joined together to block contactless payments in their stores. Imagine making it harder for consumers to spend money in your store…
 
  • Like
Reactions: interstella
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back