It’s already possible to use your smartphone in place of a wallet, and now it seems Apple wants your iPhone to replace your car keys. A patent granted this week hints that Apple is working on technology that would allow a driver to use their iPhone or possibly an Apple Watch to access their car. It would use a Bluetooth connection and an access code to unlock a vehicle. [Source: DailyMail]

A patent granted this week hints that Apple is working on technology that would allow a driver to use their iPhone or possibly Apple Watch to access their car (shown in this illustration)

The US patent relates to ‘a primary portable device [that] can access a vehicle by transmitting an activation message including a vehicle access credential to the vehicle.’

This means that drivers could use their iPhone to unlock their car, as well as starting the engine.
The patent suggests that one device – an iPhone for example – could pass a digital key onto another gadget – perhaps another iPhone or the Apple Watch, and this could be used to unlock a car.

Other firms are also working on devices and apps with which to unlock cars. For example, BMW lets drivers of certain cars lock and unlock them using their smartphone and a software firm called Eleks Lab has created an experimental app that could let Tesla drivers control their car’s functions from the Apple Watch (shown)

Apple already owns a similar patent that could allow drivers to unlock their vehicle using their iPhone with an ‘accessory control,’ Business Insider reported.
While many ideas in patents never make it into final products, the race is on to give drivers access to their cars with mobile handsets.
For example, BMW lets drivers of certain cars lock and unlock them using their smartphone.
Hyundai has also launched an Android Wear watch that connects to its Blue Link system to start a car’s engine or lock and unlock its doors. The gadget uses voice recognition to find lost cars in car parks too.
Software engineering company Eleks Lab has created an app to run on the Apple Watch that would allow drivers of Tesla’s Model S to lock their car, turn on its headlights and show where it is parked.
The firm, which has offices in London and in the Ukraine, made the app as an experiment and said it would work using web-service API.

Read more:
Apple patents car door unlocking with iPhone – Business Insider
United States Patent: 8947202

Read article HERE| SOURCE: DailyMail