Your iPhone could replace your Toyota key sooner than expected

Apple's Car Key feature is slowly expanding to more vehicles. Now, it seems that Toyota cars may be working on getting support for the feature, at least according to hints found in Apple's backend systems. 

Toyota cars may get support for Apple's Car Key feature on iPhone and Apple Watch soon 

The Cupertino tech giant has not officially announced this yet, but it appears to be working on adding support for certain Toyota vehicles to its Car Key system. That would make it possible for you to unlock and start cars that are compatible with just your iPhone or your Apple Watch. 


Back during WWDC 2025, the Cupertino giant announced that 13 new carmakers would be joining with support for the feature soon. Those include Audi, Acura, Porsche, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Rivian, and Lucid. 

Apple's Car Key is the future of unlocking cars

Car Key was first introduced back in 2022. The feature allows you to store a digital car key in the Wallet app, and you can use it instead of a real key. The feature takes advantage of NFC technology to communicate with the car and unlock or start it. 

Of course, the car model also has to support NFC and the feature. How it works is that you tap your iPhone or Apple Watch to the door handle (for most models). 

You can choose between using Face ID authentication or Apple's Express Mode, which allows faster unlocking without the need for verification. 

Toyota already offers a similar feature, though. The feature is called Remote Connect, and it's a part of a package. It allows you to unlock your Toyota car with your smartphone. Technically, Apple's Car Key offers the same functionality; however, it would be better integrated with Apple's ecosystem. 

This could be a game-changer for Toyota drivers

I think this is really exciting news for Toyota owners who are already deep into the Apple ecosystem. If you're someone who uses your iPhone and Apple Watch for everything, having your car key in there too makes a lot of sense. It's one less thing to carry around, and let's be honest, we've all had that moment of panic when we can't find our car keys.

What's interesting is that Toyota already has its own Remote Connect feature, so the carmaker is clearly thinking about this kind of technology. But Apple's Car Key would probably feel more natural if you're already using Apple Wallet for everything else. It's all in one place, which is pretty convenient.

The only thing that might hold some people back is that not all Toyota models will probably get this feature right away. It'll likely start with newer models that have the right technology built in. But as more carmakers jump on board, it seems like using your phone as a car key is becoming the new normal. It's just a matter of time before most of us are doing it.

Plus, there's something nice about being able to share your digital key with family members through the Wallet app. If your partner needs to borrow the car, you can just send them access instead of handing over a physical key. That's the kind of flexibility that makes this technology feel like a real upgrade over traditional keys.