Samsung brings Digital Key feature to the US with the GV60 Genesis EV

Many phone makers, including Samsung, have been trying to turn their smartphones into digital car keys. The South Korean giant joined the party early last year when it announced the Digital Key feature at its first Galaxy Unpacked event. The feature started rolling out in its home market in September last year, but it offered limited support. Now, the company is officially expanding its availability outside South Korea, starting with the US. That’s right, Samsung has worked with Hyundai Motor Group to make the GV60 Genesis electric vehicle (EV) the first to support ultra-wideband (UWB) Digital Keys with Galaxy devices.

The Digital Key feature relies on NFC and UWB to let you perform many actions including locking and unlocking your car, starting the engine, adjusting seats, and more using just your smartphone. Samsung recently added support for several new cars in South Korea, but this is the first time the feature is going international. The GV60, in particular, uses UWB to allow your smartphone to connect and communicate directly with your car. This feature is only supported by a limited number of Galaxy devices right now, though. The supported Galaxy phones include the Galaxy S22 Plus, Galaxy S22 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy S21 Plus, Galaxy S21 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 2, and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.

Genesis GV60 Digital Key on Samsung Pass

The digital key for your vehicles will be available through Samsung Pass, an existing system for storing IDs, passwords, and digital signatures. Samsung also says it’ll expand this service to Samsung Wallet later this year, although there’s still very little info available on the wallet app itself. You’ll also need the Genesis Connected Service app to register your phone as the digital key. Once it’s done, you should be able to use one of the aforementioned phones as a digital key for the GV60.

You can either open the door by pressing the door handle while your phone is in your bag or pocket, as you normally would, or you can automatically unlock it simply by approaching the car with your smartphone. Additionally, you’ll also be able to use some features remotely like starting the car before entering the vehicle by pressing the engine button in Samsung Pass.

One of the best things about this feature is that you’ll also be able to share your digital key with up to three of your contacts. The recipients can start using the key immediately, provided they have one of the supported Galaxy smartphones.

Samsung hasn’t mentioned any other cars in the US that support this feature yet. But we expect it to work with more car companies to expand support and also increase the number of smartphones that offer the feature. For those of you who are curious, the GV60 EV is now available in the US with a starting MSRP of $58,890. In addition to the Digital Key, this particular car also features facial recognition for locking and unlocking.

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Source: Samsung Newsroom

The post Samsung brings Digital Key feature to the US with the GV60 Genesis EV appeared first on XDA.

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