If there is one object that we never leave throughout the day, it is ours smartphone. Of whatever brand, model and level it is, each of us is always accompanied by a trusty telephone at any time of the day. For this, more and more companies and manufacturers are looking for di make phones more and more of real multipurpose objects, and no longer a simple tool to communicate. He understood it BMW, which after the launch intended for Apple devices has oggi also extended the BMW Digital Key to Android devices. Initially available for two families of Samsung and Google models, the Digital Key transforms your smartphone into a real key, allowing you to leave the “real” key at home. But it also does so much more.
What is the BMW Digital Key, and on which smartphones it arrives
As we said at the beginning, there are more and more uses that can be made of a smartphone that are no longer related to a simple “phone call”. Inside a telephone we can insert supermarket loyalty cards, credit cards, and for some time also for open and close the car. Several car manufacturers have implemented the ability to open and close the doors via one App dedicated to car management, which interfaces with the car using the cellular network.
BMW, on the other hand, has thought of one safer and more complete solution, the BMW Digital Key. In fact, the operating principle of the BMW Digital Key is not included in an app. The digital key uses the NFC chip instead present on hundreds of smartphone models. This chip, also used for digital payments, allows you to connect to another object equipped with the NFC system only approaching and touching a specific surface, as happens with contactless cards. In this way, by placing your smartphone near the door handle, the car will open (or will close). And that’s not all. Thanks to the presence of a another NFC chip inside the cockpit, by placing the phone in the glove compartment, it is possible start the car using your smartphone as a real key.
In this way, therefore, you can leave the key of your BMW at home, and use your smartphone as a keyve. So far, this functionality has been relegated to Apple phones only. Until yesterday, if you wanted to open your BMW with your phone, you had to have a iPhone. The reason, however, was not a coat of arms, but a technical one. On Apple phones, in fact, even with low battery the NFC chip continues to work for several hours, as we told you in our journey through BMW technology a few weeks ago.
BMW then partnered with Google and Android, and today the new Android 12 operating system has the same functionality which keeps the NFC active even when the phone is completely discharged. This finally allowed Android phones to have the BMW Digital Key. Given the collaboration set up to achieve this with Google and Samsung, the first Android models to have the BMW Digital Key are precisely those of the family Samsung Galaxy S21 (S21, S21+ ed S21 Ultra) e i Google Pixel 6 e 6 Pro. This feature is available in some markets, including Italy.
How does the BMW Digital Key work on Android? On which BMWs is it available? The Digital Key Plus will also arrive soon
The operation of the BMW Digital Key on Android is the same as seen on Apple devices. To enable your smartphone to function as a BMW Digital Key, you have to download the My BMW app from the Google Play Store and follow the procedure proposed by the system step by step. Once enabled, as mentioned before, it will be enough place the phone against the car to open or close it. Then once in the car it is sufficient to place the phone in the compartment for wireless charging so that the car can also be turned on. The system is compatible with almost all BMWs currently in the price list. From this functionality, in fact, they are only the older models are excluded, i.e. BMW X2, X3, X4 and also BMW 7 Series and X1. The latter, however, will be replaced with the new generations in the course of 2022, and they will certainly also support the Digital Key.
The project will not stop at opening the key via NFC. In the coming months, in fact, the possibility of share your digital key with up to 5 people. In this way, it will be very easy to share the car with family, friends or relatives in case of need, without having to go crazy with the keys. More, The BMW Digital Key Plus will also arrive on Android devices. This system, which we saw and met during our day inside the BMW Training Center (of which you can find the dedicated article below), will not use Bluetooth and NFC to connect to the car, but another type of technology, the UWB o Ultra Wide Band.
This technology does not measure the signal strength, which can easily be changed by an attacker, but the TOF, the Time of Flight, or the distance between the object and the signal transmitter, in this case the telephone. This technology, being developed on Android phones and already present on iOS, will arrive on the smartphones of the Green Robot in the coming months.
Will the BMW Digital Key also arrive on other Android models?
So, if the BMW Digital Key Plus arrives soon on Android models, the “traditional” BMW Digital Key is already available for 5 models. Obviously this is not enough neither for Google nor for BMW, which wants to spread this technology even among those who cannot or do not want to have a top-of-the-range phone. Because of this, BMW and Google are working to open up this technology to dozens of new models, including medium and low range models (equipped, of course, with NFC), to democratize a really interesting and useful technological solution. Sharing the digital key with friends and family, the possibility of not having to turn with the key always in your pocket and the convenience of concentrating everything on your smartphone are a truly ingenious and convenient solution.
More, NFC technology is safer than opening via app and even remote control, as NFC technology by definition only works if the two objects are in very close contact. Of course, you can debate whether or not it is right to concentrate everything, absolutely everything on your phone. Certainly, however, for those who use a smartphone, iOS or Android a lot, the BMW Digital Key could be a tool of comfort, safety and relaxation. And opening up this system to Android smartphones is really important if you want to spread a new technology with so much potential. And you? What do you think? Are you in favor of this digitization? Let us know below in the comments – it’s your time.