The world is becoming a smarter place to live thanks to ever expanding smart devices. What started with smartphones is now extending to devices like smart locks, smart lights and even smart water faucets and smart beds. Now, Google is taking this trend a step further by giving users a simple way to turn their cars into smart cars.
Of course platform such as Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Amazon’s Echo Auto were already making a large part of that possible. But now Google has introduced a bunch of new features that will make this process a whole lot simpler. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022, the company announced features that will make it possible for users to lock and unlock their cars hands-free. The company said that select Samsung smartphone users and Google Pixel users can now lock, unlock and even start their cars using the digital car keys on their smartphones. At the moment, this feature is available on select vehicles from BMW only. But if all goes well, maybe Google will expand it to cars by other companies as well.
Google also said that later this year it is bringing a feature to Android phones that will enable users to lock and unlock their cars without taking their smartphones out to use it as their car keys. “You’ll also be able to securely and remotely share your car key with friends and family if they need to borrow your car,” Google wrote in a blog post. This feature will be available on select Android smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 that come with Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology. The company said that it is working to bring digital car keys to more Android phones and vehicles later this year.
The list doesn’t end there. The company also said that soon Android users will be able to ask Google for help with remote actions pertaining to their cars. For instance, users will be able to use their voice to warm up and cool down their cars. They will also be able to lock and unlock their cars and get information about their cars’ parameters on all Google Assistant-enabled devices. As far as availability is concerned, this feature will first be available in vehicles from Volvo Cars in the coming months. The company will gradually expand its availability to other vehicles soon.