Galaxy S21+ and S21 Ultra update brings digital car key support (S.Korea for now, other countries to follow)

Back in January, Samsung announced its "digital key" feature that was promised to come to any UWB-equipped smartphone but there was no news on its integration until now. Now, Android Police reports that the feature has been delivered to Galaxy S21 phones with the latest security patch (for now, only in South Korea, but other markets should get this feature soon too).

Digital car key finally coming to Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra

Once the update is installed, users will be able to add a support key to Samsung Pass, although there aren't any compatible models of cars announced officially, so we will have to wait and see. Currently, the digital key is available only to users in South Korea, but it should make its way to users in the US and other markets pretty soon.

Back in January, Audi, BMW, Ford, and Genesis were among the carmakers that said their models will be compatible, but there is no list of specific car models just yet. Digital keys are expected to be able to unlock your car and even start its engine using a combination of NFC and UWB (Ultra-wide band) technologies.

According to a previous announcement by Samsung, Digital Car keys were supposed to come to the Galaxy S21 line in August, with house keys coming earlier in July, but it seems these plans did not turn out exactly as expected. Maybe support for house keys is to follow the Digital Car keys one.

Earlier, Google announced Android 12 will have support for digital car keys baked in

Back in May, Google stated that with Android 12, you will be able to use your phone as a car key, again for specific car models, expectedly selected models from carmaker BMW. According to Google, the feature will be coming to Pixel phones and Samsung phones this fall.

Support for digital car keys will depend on device and vehicle, while some combinations will use UWB to authenticate so you won't need to even take out your phone from your pocket, and for others, you will be able to use NFC to authenticate your phone as a key for the car. Apple also has a similar thing, but it is going to support only select BMW cars for now.

Digital car keys will use UWB or NFC to unlock your car

Samsung has announced its partnership with carmakers BMW, Audi, Ford, and Genesis back in January for the new digital car keys solution. Samsung is currently a part of multiple standards bodies that work on the tech, for example, the FiRa Consortium and the Car Connectivity Consortium (Apple is also a leading member in this one). Samsung's Kevin Chung also stated that you will be able to share digital keys across smartphones, regardless of brand or platform, which will come in handy if multiple people are driving your car.


It is still unclear which vehicles will support UWB unlocking, which is the more secure version of the tech. It uses standardized pulses of low-power energy, from multiple parts of your car at once, to figure out your exact position in relation to your car's handle from some distance away. This way, when you reach for your door handle, you should be able to unlock your car with your phone still in the pocket.

For NFC-powered connections, you will most likely need to pull your phone out and tap it to your car, the same way NFC payment transactions are made today, so it won't be as seamless as the UWB one.