My 2011 Lexus has keyless entry, just has a dongle I carry in my pocket. It's proximity based, in that if I am a few feet within my car, I can unlock my car. The key knows when it's inside the car, or outside the car - I am assuming Bluetooth, but this is an assumption. This is NOT a new technology, as it's been available as a Keyless option from many car brands for years.
Is Bluetooth as espoused by Apple something "new" that is only coming around to cars now, or is this support for existing cars as well?
This is not a key fob. This is not BT. Remote keyless systems utilizing a handheld transmitter first appeared long before your Lexus, starting with the Renault in 1982, if I recall correctly. Your Lexus has a considerably more advanced and smarter adaptation of that where it's not a button you need to push, but short wave radio waves that knows the location of the key fob at all times in relation to the inside and outside of the car.
This is "UWB technology to deliver passive, location-aware keyless access to smartphones and other mobile equipment." This is very much new tech for a smartphone and the future of our devices connecting with our automobiles. We could even see more automobiles following Tesla by not including and charging for key fobs after UWB is active in your iPhone and Watch.
I can't wait for my Watch to be able to unlock and start my vehicle. Like with NFC, I hope that it will also be usable when the Watch (or iPhone) is dead.
This is NFC right now. This isn't UWB... yet. UWB and BT LE will be added to the spec in the 3.0 Release. But you are right that it's not like the remote keyless fob systems that are prevalent today.
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