Two years ago, Samsung announced that Galaxy S21+ and Galaxy S21 Ultra users would be able to unlock their connected cars using Digital Keys. Audi, BMW, Ford, and Genesis were among Samsung's first partners for this feature. Later, the feature also became compatible with Hyundai and Kia cars. This feature is changing slightly now.
Today, Samsung has announced that Digital Keys for Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia cars will switch from Samsung's framework to Google's framework. This change will happen starting with the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 Beta 3 update. This software version was released to the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra last week.
Earlier, these new Digital Keys could be shared only with other Galaxy smartphone users. However, after switching to Google's framework, they can now be shared with iPhone, Pixel, and other Android smartphone users. Currently, sharing these keys is only possible between One UI 6.0 Beta users, but once the stable One UI 6.0 update is released, users can share Digital Keys for their Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia cars with smartphone users from other brands.
Samsung notes that if you're a Genesis car user, you need to use the existing Genesis Connected Services app while using the One UI 6.0 beta update on your Galaxy smartphone. Note that these Digital Keys only work on phones that feature Bluetooth LE and UWB.
