Tim Cook Divulges Key Apple Watch Car Feature
One of those reasons [to buy Apple Watch], he said, would be to replace your car keyfob…
Cook didn’t hint at an Apple car, but rather appeared to be suggesting that deals with existing manufacturers for either NFC or Bluetooth unlocking would be struck.
That’s all well and good, but unless Apple has something akin to Apple Pay in mind (which works with vendors’ existing POS terminals and wireless payment receivers without requiring any new hardware), I don’t see the immediate allure. I used to drive a car that had a fob-based proximity unlock. It was marginally convenient, and either of the aforementioned technologies should be adequate for that purpose. But that’s not what I use my keyfob for in the real world. I use it to find my car in a crowded parking lot. That’s pretty much it. Unfortunately, the active ranges for NFC or Bluetooth won’t work for that, and until Apple finds a better solution, I’m not particularly compelled by “Apple Watch as car dongle.”